The Earth and I
by uncreative pseudonym
Summary: Dragonball Z, with something gone horribly wrong. Update: Soulless Goku battles Dark Buu, Piccolo struggles to recover Goku's captive soul, pieces of the puzzle are reunited, and all plans reach their conclusions. This is truly the end.
1. Episode I: Prolog

The original author's note has been removed in accordance with chapter rules. Here is a portion of it:

Just to get be sure, I should mention this is an AU. I've tried to make this seem like this is what ordinary Dragon Ball Zcannon would be… if something was terribly wrong. There are a few fundamental changes in the universe; you should be able to pick them up as we go along. But if something seems to be incorrect, it is most likely intentional (though I did make some mistakes that readers pointed out). Because of the fact that this is pseudo-cannon, however, in the beginning it will seem a lot like the normal story. Have patience; the first part is basically paring down the cast.

Eventually, we'll end up with something very different from normalDragon Ball Zstoryline. Until then, we abide. I've put general because my intended scope is far larger than any genre. The PG-13 rating is for violence.

* * *

Before East Kioshin could do anything, Buu turned and punched his brother, West Kioshin, through the side of the temple and turned on him. Firing the largest energy attack he could, East Kioshin charged, only to have Buu agilely leap to the side and kick him from above. Rolling as he met the ground, he got to his feet again. He hadn't even been fighting two minutes, and he already felt like a building had fallen on him.

Buu's speed was just too much. No matter how hard he pushed himself, he couldn't match up. The others had helped him, but they were gone now. Getting painfully to his feet, he was hammered by another blow and smashed through the building.

Smirking, Buu landed and surveyed the damage he had done. A second later South Kioshin leaped at him from behind, making him fall forward. The Kioshin landed and faced off with Buu, who smirked and held out a hand. He fired a shot and dust obscured the view, but a second later an unharmed South Kioshin flew from behind and sent him tumbling.

Buu then pulled out a gigantic chunk of rock, and hurled it behind him toward the amused Kioshin.

"Do you expect that to harm me?" South Kioshin laughed. The next instant he stopped when he realized he was speaking to an absent audience. Buu, now having moved behind him, launched a haymaker at him, sending him flying. Catching himself on a wall, South Kioshin laughed and charged again.

North Kioshin flew from the side, faster than both of them. He launched a blow that knocked Buu tumbling. The pink monster turned to them both, and then they flew forward, battling fiercely. Ducking beneath one blow while dodging another, Buu kicked North Kioshin away temporarily and elbowed South Kioshin away from him. Arcing swiftly, North Kioshin attacked him again, and Buu's hand barely deflected his blow.

By this time, all four of them had gotten to their feet and surrounded the monster. Buu glanced at all of them, smiling slightly.

"Give it up!" West Kioshin barked at him, "you're going to lose!"

"No."

"Then you asked for it!"

All of them charged at the same instant, and Buu moved at the same time. He avoided West Kioshin's punch, flipped him away and kicked East in the midriff. Swaying to the side, he elbowed North Kioshin into the rock pillar nearby and avoided South Kioshin's kick. South Kioshin swung once more, but his fist was caught in Buu's larger palm. For a second South Kioshin gaped, and then Buu's knee met his face and he flew into the air, crashing some distance away.

Turning, Buu barely caught a glimpse of white blur before Dai Kioshin hammered him directly, sending him flying. Caught off guard, Buu took a nasty uppercut and then another punch to the side. He fell toward the ground, with Dai Kioshin following him. Catching himself with his hands, Buu kicked backward, sending Dai Kioshin into the sky.

Flipping to his feet, Buu faced them again. All of them realized with horror that he was barely harmed.

"Master Dai!" West Kai got to his feet, his breath haggard but respectful.

"We have only one chance," the greatest Kioshin said softly, watching Buu. "We must use the ultimate seal. If he is allowed to continue, we have no hope."

"But, how?" South muttered. All of them split a second later, barely avoiding Buu's charge. They recollected at the other side of the field, while Buu merely laughed.

"If we have a distraction, we can perform the spell," Dai Kioshin hissed. "But how?"

"I'll do it." North said, gripping the sword on his back. The others glared at him.

"You won't steal any glory," East Kioshin began, but stopped when he realized Buu was charging again.

The four of them collected and began the magic, gathering their power. North Kioshin launched a bolt, knocking Buu off course. They clashed again, but Buu's palm made its way through his defenses, sending North Kioshin hurtling backward. He hit the ground heavily and failed to get up.

"Now!" Dai Kioshin cried, the energy between them flickering with power. Energy surged out, coming into the battered North Kioshin, who lay still as Buu flew downward toward him. At what seemed like the last possible instant, his eyes opened and his fist came up, catching Buu's hand before it reached him. A second later a kick sent him sprawling.

Buu got up, gritting his teeth and looking warily at him. North Kioshin smirked and then leaped and drew his sword in one motion. He blurred forward, and Buu leapt backward, but found with shock that he wasn't fast enough. A bright line sliced across his chest. He grimaced, but then a second later North Kioshin launched a beam from his sword, knocking him backward.

Regaining his balance, Buu was struck again, this blow cleaving him in half. Gritting his teeth, Buu formed together once again, now no longer severed or cut. All of them had expected as much, as well as North Kioshin, who had flown into the air, then slammed his sword down into Buu. Signaling, North Kioshin caused the sword within Buu to explode. Seconds later, the weapon appeared back in his hands.

Shattered, Buu fell and the others cheered, all silently hating North Kioshin for being the hero. It was Dai Kioshin who noticed it first, a spark of something near the fallen Buu. As he turned, all the others looked as well, and then recoiled in shock.

Something seemed to animate Buu's body to stand once again. His eyes looked lifeless, and then faded to a stomach-turning black. A darkness deeper than anything they had seen flooded from behind him, tendrils snaking around Buu and surrounding him. While they stood stunned, it whirled around him and Buu's eyes closed. When they opened again they glowed red.

"Fools!" His voice was deep and seemed to come from beyond him, piercing their souls, "I am the Darkness! I will see you destroyed!"

All of them attacked, except Dai Kioshin, who was left holding the energy they had generated. Buu smirked and batted them aside , sending them crashing into the ground. West Kioshin flew at him again, and hurtled through the space where Buu had been formerly. The next instant a fist slammed him down, sending him into the rock. North Kioshin's sword swept down and Buu easily caught it and ripped it from his hands.

Gaping, North Kioshin could only stare as Buu bent the supposedly unbreakable sword into a twisted knot and tossed it aside. Before he could even formulate thoughts of moving, a fist hammered North backward over the horizon.

"Die!" Buu's head jerked to the side as he searched for the source of the sound. Seeing nothing he looked up, to find Dai Kioshin launching the magic directly at him. A solid white beam sliced down, covering him and enveloping the area around him in a brilliant light.

"No!" The beam formed into a sphere that surrounded Buu, who shrieked in anger.

"This is the end," Dai Kioshin said calmly, disheveled but triumphant, "you have been beaten."

"I'll annihilate you!" Buu hissed, pounding on the inside of the sphere.

"Shut up! I hate you!" Dai Kioshin practically screamed, launching energy around him, power blazing around the area. The sphere became whiter and whiter, slowly fading from view. As he fell backward from existence, Buu caught Dai Kioshin's eyes one last time, and his voice came from nothing, barely audible.

"You fool, you know not what you do..."

Hundreds of years later, in a blackness darker than the space that it hovered in, a force that seemed to encompass everything, something stirred. Energy flooded out into space, wrapping around the reality. Down below, an insignificant hunk of rock floated in space. Soundlessly, Darkness expanded to the galaxy, and descended to the planet.

In a space between the Afterlife and the world, between reality and unreality, between order and chaos, there was nearly nothing. Nearly. Deep in a magical slumber, Shenlong slept, coiled in a ball. The mighty dragon was always here, except when temporarily summoned when someone collected all of the Dragonballs. For now, however, it had no wish to grant.

A ripple swept across the nothingness, disturbing the dragon. Shenlong unraveled into his full, gigantic length and listened carefully to the flux in space. The dragon sighed heavily, cosmic power curling through his lips. He was too old for this, far too old.

Coiling up again, the dragon returned to his sleep. It had read many terrible things in the ripple, and it was disturbed to its core. He would be summoned again, many times. But now he had foreseen a final, last time. And then there would be nothing. Somehow, his creator would be destroyed. Maybe there would be a final sleep then, a release from all the annoyances from this world.

But it was grateful it would not have to face what was to come.

Bardock stood, staring into the fires silently. Another city was going up in flames. While it was a disgrace to his warrior blood, things back home were distracting him. His young son, Raditz, already had a position in the army as a scout. With luck, Bardock would come back to another son.

"Get moving!" Toma yelled, shaking him out of his silence. Bardcok shook his head ruefully. He really needed to keep himself going, they were on deadline to get this planet ready. But there weren't very many more cities left now, if his calculations were correct. They flew off to the next one, leaving carnage behind.

Once landing there, Bardock ignored the screams of the people in the city as they appeared, floating above the city. Raising a hand, he threw a ball of energy up into the air, sending it sparkling out into the lavender sky. Ever since Prince Vegita had invented a technique to simulate a full moon, things had been so much easier. Energy pulsed into him, and he felt the transformation taking place. Soon only a giant black ape stood where Bardock had one been. Roaring in Oozaru form, he rushed into the city with Toma, ripping buildings like they were toys.

The destruction continued. In just a few hours, the final cities were destroyed. Bardock and Toma sat by the blazing remains of a city as they made camp, once again in their normal forms. After getting set up, Bardock stood by the fire, watching the flames silently. There was no reason to watch the flames, but he always found himself back at them again. Toma just shook his head at his companion.

"Hi-yah!"

The voice came from behind. Bardock was hit before he could react and he tumbled forward. Leaping up and turning, he saw another of these beings standing there. He was small and covered with slightly pink fur. Right now his mouth was gritted in anger.

"I am the last of my people," he growled, "you destroyed them all."

Bardock rolled his eyes and wearily raised a finger. A beam lanced out, but the small creature was suddenly gone and the beam hurtled into space. Raising both hands, energy began pouring from the creature, who was standing behind Bardock. The energy hit Bardock dead on. He found himself unharmed, but immobile. Something was happening to him, and he didn't know what. For a second there was profound, incredible pain.

"It is finished!" The creature laughed, "You will always pay for what you have done! Now, forever more, you have been given the curse to see the future!"

Just then, Toma flew forward and slammed a palm into the creature's face. It went flying backward, hitting a plateau and demolishing it. Bardock could move again and launched a ki bolt that finished whatever remained of it. Both warriors turned back to their fire, waiting for the ship to pick them up. Last stand heros were always typical, and they always met the same fate.

The ship arrived, and they headed back toward their base again. By now, Bardock had already forgotten the incident with the last creature on the planet. He and Toma reported that the planet had been swept clean of inhabitants and could now be sold. He'd already done three planets that month, and he hoped to get a bonus for doing so many. Walking to his quarters, Bardock suddenly felt the world around him spinning into blackness.

Looking around him worriedly, Bardock saw that he was in a grassy, pleasant field. A single tree stood nearby. What was going on? Where was he? Suddenly he saw a few people walking across the field toward him.

They didn't seem to see him, and they continued walking in his direction. Bardock recognized his surroundings. The Afterlife, where people went when they died; had he died? Just then the people neared him, still not paying any attention. Bardock gasped. One of the people was him! They continued walking and talking, and they passed right through him as if he didn't exist, continuing on the other side.

Whirling around, Bardock watched himself go, then followed. Something strange was going on here. They were talking about something, it didn't make any sense to him. Suddenly the world around him swam, and when he looked again he saw changes.

The other warriors he had been talking with lay sprawled on the ground. There was a green warrior in a purple gi standing there, holding a limp form. Looking closer, Bardock realized that it was himself. Glancing around, he saw the other bodies of Toma and many others he had known. He looked back at the warrior, saw him heave his body into the air and incinerate it in one shot. The world around him swam again.

Shaking his head violently, Bardock found himself again in his quarters, just inside the door. No time seemed to have passed. Getting up off the floor, Bardock thought about the incident. Himself dying. Was he really seeing the future? Could this be what that creature had been talking about?

Clearing his head, Bardock concentrated on forgetting the issue. But something about it lingered with him, a haunting in the back of his mind. What if it was true?

King Vegita crept silently through the corridors, making no sound as he left. If all went well, no on would see him here. Breathing a sigh of relief and wiping sweat from his face, King Vegita carefully glanced around, then continued moving. Almost out now.

He nearly ran into Frieza as he rounded the corner. The changeling glowered at him, and for a second the king thought he had a serious problem on his hands. Luckily, Frieza didn't seem to know that he wasn't supposed to be here, so he would be fine. Except that anything involving Frieza went badly.

"I'd suggest paying more attention ," Frieza said icily, and King Vegita could feel him powering up slightly, a small threat. The king knew that Frieza was more than strong enough to take him out then, even in Oozaru. Well, he'd get what was coming to him someday. He was king of the entire saiyan race, and eventually they'd throw off the changelings and go on their own to rule the galaxy.

"Are those planets in?" Frieza asked him. King Vegita nodded.

"We went over our quota by 12, sir."

"Acceptable," Frieza nodded. "All right then, you've done well. However, the purpose of my visit is not to talk to you about planets. My father has told me to warn you. You've taken entirely too much license on some recent planets. The instant you saiyans step out of line, we come here and slaughter you all. Do you understand?"

"We would not back down from a challenge," the king smirked, "but of course, we'll continue to serve you. You'll get no trouble from us."

"Good."

They continued talking, but King Vegita had to smile to himself. Now, talking with Frieza, he had not only the perfect alibi, but also a perfectly good reason to be here. The two rulers grated on each other's nerves, then eventually parted ways, both very pleased with themselves. A warrior passed him, and King Vegita gave him a second glance. Was this the unlucky one? He'd never know. Moving onward, the king did his best to forget all that had just happened. Still, a chill wind seemed to blow through him, and he wasn't warm again for some time.

Standing outside the nursery, Bardock looked around for his son. He was supposed to be in there somewhere, but there were a large number of babies. Just when Bardock found him, he quickly activated his scouter and looked to see what it said.

"2!"

He was outraged. His son had a power level of two? Completely worthless! Turning on his heel, Bardock strode off down the corridor to find one of the attendants. One was sitting at the desk, writing on some papers. Vaulting over the desk, Bardock gripped him by the shirt and pulled him up to his level.

"I want my son launched today."

"Very well sir," the aide choked out. Just give me your name and ID..."

Bardock watched the capsule fly off into space. It was soon gone. His son had been worthless. Now he was gone. At least he still had his first son, Raditz. The boy was stronger then this weakling. He showed some promise, at least. Turning, Bardock tried to forget that his son had ever existed, now that he was going to take over some obscure backwater planet. Still, as he went he turned back once more, and hurried inside, suddenly colder than a saiyan should ever have been.

King Kai was wandering the surface of his planet, and then he felt something touch him to the soul. There had been something that just happened, something involving destiny. And whatever it was, it had just mattered to the fate of the entire galaxy. Sensing around the universe, King Kai found nothing unusual, but he knew something was wrong in his quarter of the galaxy.

He hated contacting the other Kais, and abstained from doing so now. Still, he knew they had all felt it. Turning, he went back into his house and closed the door, as if trying to ward off destiny. Outside, a black and cold wind began to blow.

The Saga Begins...


	2. Episode II: Frieza Saga

Kami's Lookout. The highest location in the world. A tall, thin tower ran for miles before curving out abruptly into an upside-down half circle. Atop it sat the buildings in which Mr. Popo, Kami's aide, and the Kami lived. There were many things of legend in Kami's Lookout, but it was chosen because the planet's current guardian could see most of the world from on top of it, from Korin's Tower to Pepper Town.  Kami, the guardian, watched over the world from his perch in the sky

Kami stood on top of his lookout, watching the humans fly off in his ship. It had taken a short while to get it started, as it hadn't moved since he first arrived here, but it was running fine now. The aged guardian smiled slightly. Soon a tenth of his subjects would be back again. He had confidence in the skills of everyone on the ship, no matter how worthless they were, since Goku hadn't gone along with them. His smile darkened in one instant and became a scowl the next. Saiyans. He hated every last one of them, Goku was just as bad as all the rest. Only young Gohan worked for his side, and he was just a half saiyan. Even then, he was still a simple fool.

Ahh, Kami loved Dragonballs right now. All Nameks could, with training, make Dragonballs. Kami had created his own set, but they had just been used, by his evil alter-ego. For a while this had put him at a loss, but a solution had quickly been found. So now they went to gather the Dragonballs on Namek. Hopefully his predecessor had created a set there.

Walking back into the main building on the lookout, Kami thanked his lucky stars for the fact that Goku was still in the hospital. He had tried to have him killed, but King Yemma, guardian of the Afterlife, had interfered, just for the purpose of spiting him, so Kami couldn't get rid of him that way. Worse yet, the one saiyan, Vegita, had survived. Kami gritted his teeth as he sat down heavily on his throne. That was when Goku had shown his true colors. He hadn't killed the menace to their world, allowing him to live. Kami had never liked him, but this had confirmed his suspicions. 

Suddenly a large shape darkened the hall, throwing his head into shadow.

"Mr. Popo?"

"Are you saying I'm short, black colored and fat?" Kami would know that voice anywhere.

"Piccolo." He practically spat out the name. His entirely evil side. When he had wanted to become Kami of Earth, he had split into his good side and evil side. The evil side had been Piccolo Diamo, but Goku, still as a boy, had killed him. Kami would have died, because they were still partially connected, but Piccolo Diamo had one last son, Piccolo, and his life lived on in him. Piccolo towered over him at well over six feet, his solid black gi covered by his white shoulder pads and turban.

Piccolo smirked and moved into the hallway to stand before him, arrogant and defiant.  Kami almost growled at him before he caught himself. Ever since they had met again after many years Piccolo had always made his temper rise, with his sheer strength and mocking attitude. 

"Yes, Kami, it's me," Piccolo said, moving closer.

Kami looked into his eyes hatefully. Piccolo dropped his arrogant cover for a few seconds and Kami gasped. Deep beneath those black eyes glittered a pain of something horrible, something terrible beyond words. Like one who has seen the future and is still haunted by it. In that instant he saw deeply, saw forking paths to destruction. Kami hadn't believed that his alter ego could feel those emotions. He still didn't.

"You still don't believe I can, do you?" Piccolo was smirking again, almost reading his thoughts.

"Why did you come here?" Kami asked him angrily, nearly rising out of his throne.

"To tell you that you and I will be dying soon."

"What are you talking about?

"You don't know?" Piccolo laughed. Kami thought it was an evil laugh, "I'm surprised at you. Even I felt all of that. Maybe I should have been Kami instead of you."

"No!"

"Oh yes. Don't you realize that your subjects hate you? They hate you as much as you hate saiyans. Why, do you ask? I'll tell you why. They hate anyone different from them, you installed that feeling in them. This is partially your fault, too. Now there's a planet full of nothing but dark ki and hate toward everything."

"That wasn't me, they already had that inside themselves!"

"Maybe so. Maybe not. But you haven't helped it any and now you're playing with a time bomb that could cause the end of the galaxy. Do you really think they'll succeed in getting the Dragonballs on Namek?"

"I have every faith in them."

  


"Then you are a fool. Do you know what they'll be up against? Frieza is there, Kami, going for the Dragonballs, too." Frieza. The name struck a chill in Kami's heart. The master of the galaxy, the destroyer of worlds. For years he had been easily the most powerful being in the galaxy, destroying worlds for the fun of it. And he was on Namek. Piccolo was enjoying himself, reveling in the fact that he knew more of the future then Kami did. Suddenly the light in his eyes died.

"But it won't matter," he said softly, gruffly.  "Even then, it wouldn't matter. I'll die, Kami, many people will die. There is nothing I can do to change that."

"How do you know so much?" Kami breathed, not realizing he had no breath to breath.

"I know what I know," Piccolo said sadly. "I know I will die. While I can't change that, I will make a difference. In my death, I will accomplish more then you ever have, more then they will accomplish on Namek. Maybe I will fail in saving the world, but I'll do my best."

Piccolo stepped backwards towards the door, then spoke one final time. "My only regret about dying," he said as he flashed a cocky, fanged smile, "is that I won't get to see you die with me. See you soon."

His cape swirled, and Piccolo strode out. In seconds, he was gone. Kami sat in his chair and buried his head in his hands. For the first time in his long life, he didn't know what was going to happen. Another first in his life, Kami cried. 

Goku awoke in a hospital bed. Shaking his head, he looked around a bit. He was covered head to toe in bandages. His gi was laid out neatly by the foot of his bed. Getting up shakily, Goku decided he was mostly well, just very, very tired. Memories started coming back. Piccolo wishing him back from the Afterlife to fight the saiyans. Running back to the battle, where he saw Nappa, the first saiyan, beating everyone. He remembered beating him, only to have Vegita, the saiyan Prince himself, kill Nappa for being defeated.

Then there had been the battle. Vegita had proved to be far less than a match for him, until he suddenly had used an artificial moon ball. This transformed him into a giant Oozaru. Goku's tail had been removed, and he started getting pounded. Everyone had left him for finished, except Piccolo. His own son had left him. The instant that occurred to him, it was snuffed from his brain by his subconscious. But he hadn't been finished. No he hadn't. Even now Goku felt a lot stronger from the battle. 

He ripped off the bandages and put his blue shirt on, then his orange gi over it. Taking the blue sash, he tied it around his waist.  Then, exhausted from the effort, he fell back down into the bed again. He hurt with every fiber of his being. And he was hungry.

Vegita floated in the rejuvenation tank. Even the saiyan prince's hair looked damaged; it wasn't sticking up as high as usual. His saiyan armor stood outside the tank, his older, higher-ranking set having been blasted during his fight with Goku. The oxygen mask covered his face, feeding him air while the tank healed his broken and injured body. But Vegita's mind was laced with injuries that no tank could heal. His spirit was frantically clawing at itself in agony.

How could he have lost? To anyone, much less a low-level warrior who didn't even matter? He felt like a failure. No! He couldn't let his mind start down that path. That path led to defeat and agony, his father had always told him. Yes, his father had told him a lot. As soon as Vegita had learned everything he could from his father, he killed him. Not that Vegita cared. The first lesson his father, King Vegita, had taught was that a true warrior had no allies.

He should have remembered that for Nappa! Why had he brought that weakling along? Nappa had almost been defeated by even the weaklings on Earth, then Kakkarrot had almost killed him in one punch. Kakkarrot! He was going to die for this! No one, absolutely no one, defeated the saiyan prince and lived long after. But how had he won? By all rights, Vegita should have been the winner. What advantage didn't he have? It didn't help that he insisted on being called by his human given name, Goku. Vegita wouldn't do it, though. Useless humans. But how had Kakkarrot beaten him?

He had been born the strongest saiyan ever. Kakkarrot had been so weak he had been sent off to a frontier planet. Vegita was a regal prince. Kakkarrot had been dropped on his head and forgotten everything about his saiyan ancestry. Vegita had been trained by the very best in the royal palace. Kakkarrot's training consisted of learning from a bunch of weaklings on Earth and self training. Vegita had some of the strongest moves in the galaxy, techniques that could destroy planets. Kakkarrot had a simple Kamehameha. Vegita had his tail, while Kakkarrot the fool had gotten his surgically removed.

But it hadn't mattered. Kakkarrot had defeated him at every turn, proving himself the stronger. Vegita remembered laughing at him, and becoming an Oozaru. He remembered how his son and everyone else had deserted him in the face of his power. And he remembered, most painfully of all, Kakkarrot's Kio-ken technique. He remembered taking more and more painful blows until his tail snapped off. Without that, he was nothing.

  


Even worse, Kakkarrot hadn't killed him. He had beaten him, but allowed him to live. The fool honestly believed that people were good at heart, even as everyone around him hated him. But that was his mistake, and Vegita would make him pay for it. As soon as he recovered from near-death, his power would increase beyond what it had ever been before. He opened one eye and glanced at the completion meter. His healing was almost completely finished.                                                                                                                 

"Your days are numbered, Kakkarrot," he muttered to no one through the liquid, "and I'll do my best to make it gets lower soon!"

The Namekiian spacecraft zipped through space at top speed, flying for its destination. It reminded them vaguely of a spiked bug, but it was fast enough to get them to Namek quickly. Inside, its seven inhabitants waited anxiously for the ship to land. The onboard map said they were almost there.

Gohan sat in a corner, running thoughts of all that had happened through his mind, trying to forget he was half saiyan. Being so young, and in such situations, had forced him to grow up fast. He brushed straight black hair away from his eyes and looked around the ship. Krillin had been Goku's best friend, but no longer. He'd been rivals with Tien, but Goku's return had made them put aside their differences. Chou-su, Tien's former closest friend, sat nearby. Now, however, the two of them had grown apart, and they rarely spoke. Yajirobe sat behind them at the table, gi splitting at the seams. A sword was slung across his back, but Gohan had never seen him use it effectively. Yamcha sat in another corner, glowering at Bulma, who was tinkering with some of the machines below. Both of them were still angry with the other after a fight they'd had.

"Uhh, Bulma?" Krillin asked, breaking a stony silence that had reigned the past days of the trip.

"What?" Bulma stuck her head out of a small compartment she was working inside, brushing aside a strand of lavender hair.

"How exactly are we going to find all the dragonballs?"

"I've adapted the Dragonball Radar to search for Namek Dragonballs as well. Kami had to help me a little bit, but from there it was a cinch."

"Uhh, okay. "                                                                                                                                   

"We're entering the atmosphere!" Tien called from up front. Krillin made a break for the cockpit and Bulma scrambled out of the compartment to join everyone. They looked out and saw a vast, beautiful world speeding toward them. It was far larger than Earth, thin clouds whirled over it.

"The ground is blue and the water is green," Gohan said, sounding disgusted.

"Yeah." Yamcha's eyebrows twitched slightly. 

According to their database, a giant storm had recently taken out a good portion of the Namek population. The villages that remained held their seven Dragonballs for a time when they needed them. Not that they ever would. Guru, the eldest Namek, wasn't even sure why he had made them. But now the only way to destroy them would be for him to die, and he didn't want to do that just yet. Now they only served as a way for people to try and get whatever foolishness they thought they wanted.

The ship landed perfectly on the blue grass. A door opened on the side, to allow everyone to get out. All seven of the passengers clambered out. Yajirobe got stuck in the door for a while, but everyone working together got him loose. Everything looked pretty much like Earth, except the obvious color changes. Bulma pulled out the Dragonball Radar, and Gohan took it.

"My dad isn't here to boss us all around," the boy began.                

"Thank goodness," Chou-su interrupted.

Ignoring him, Gohan continued, "so I'll be in charge of the mission."

Turning on the Dragonball Radar, they saw a blinking dot northeast of them. Gohan put the radar in his belt and they all started walking toward the Dragonball, not wanting to arouse the Nameks to their presence by flying or using any ki. Glancing at the Radar, Gohan saw a few more Dragonballs nearby. This would be a cinch, there weren't any strong powers near the Dragonballs. With any luck, the Nameks would just give them the Dragonballs, or at least cower in fear while they took them.

Another spaceship landed quite a ways away, the engines burning the dirt below to crisp. Large pointed fixtures gripped the ground as it settled, then the hatch opened and lowered to the ground. A few guards advanced out, looking around carefully. Soon, however, they judged it safe and formed two lines at either side of the ship itself. From inside a few more figures walked, through the rows of guards, then looked around carefully.

  


Frieza, the master of the galaxy, looked around the planet, nodding. He clicked the scouter on his head and turned in a full circle, getting readings on all the powers within sensor range

"So this despicable place is where these Dragonballs are," he smirked. "I don't sense anyone with a lot of power on the planet, so I guess it won't be much of a problem. Well now, Mr. Dodoria, Mr. Zarbon, head out. There are large masses of ki that appear to be villages, so the Dragonballs must be there. Move. The rest of you, fan out over the planet and take as many of the Dragonballs as fast as you can. Expect ineffective resistance. I'll remain here. Bring them to me when you're done. Go!"

Hundreds of warriors blasted off in different directions, heading toward whatever ki they could sense. Smiling evilly, Frieza snickered and watched his plan come into fruitation.

Scouting out the Dragonballs, Gohan nodded and pointed the way. The entire team walked as quickly as possible and moved towards their first destination, and their first Dragonball.

An elderly Namek walked from his house toward the well, ready to gather another bucket of water. The bucket fell from his hands and struck the ground hard, and he gawked toward the sky. Something very evil was coming, something he had not felt in a long time. Before long, the Namek gathered himself and hurried back in, calling for the warriors.

"What is it, honorable elder?" one asked, looking down at him. The elder gasped for breath, then spoke.

"An army, coming this way! They'll be here any minute!"

"Right." Motioning to the others, the warrior left and stood outside. They'd long ago learned to trust the senses of the old one. They had barely all assembled when a whole group of Frieza's troops flew in the horizon, then landed, smirking at them. An attitude among them made it obvious that they had never been challenged. The Nameks got into fighting stances warily.

"Give us the Dragonball now and we might not kill you," the leader said, stepping forward.

"Never," one warrior barked, "they are only for a time of great disaster!"

"Well, refusing us will be the biggest disaster ever!" His hand moved up to his scouter, his symbol of leadership, and he sneered. "All around 3000? Do you expect to fight us? Now die!"

Frieza's forces rushed forward, but before they closed the distance between them, blue auras burst up around the Nameks, and they flew forward instantly. Almost before the fight had really began, it was over. Only a few of the attacking warriors remained. They backed away, into a tight huddle in a circle of glowering Nameks. One spat in their direction.

"This can't be!" the leader stammered, "they've all risen to 8000!"

"I've heard of such races, that can hide their true power," another muttered. "Any bright ideas?"

Whether or not any would have come, an instant later nothing remained.

Gohan looked around carefully again, and decided to head around the large rock formation as the best way to reach the Dragonball. As they circled around it, they saw an entire Namek village before them. Seeing no other option, all of them headed in the direction of the village. Nameks turned to look at them, surprised.

"Where is the Dragonball?" Tien asked one, who shrank back from him.

"I don't know, please-" His words were cut off as Tien incinerated him. The others recoiled in shock, but then a very old Namek opened the door and came toward them slowly.

"Why do you want the Dragonball?" he asked them. "What is the motive in your hearts?"

"Just give it to us!" Gohan growled, gripping the Namek by his shirt. An instant later a beam shot out, hitting Gohan from the side and knocking him into a house, which exploded and began burning. The others first whipped their heads to look for Gohan, and then toward where the beam had originated. Eight Namek warriors stood before them, all looking angry.

"Do not harm him," one commanded them, "and we might not harm you."

"Jump in a lake!" Yamcha sneered. "Actually, it looks like you've been in too much green water recently!"

"You are fools to challenge us!"

"Bring it!"

The Nameks all suddenly flared up, power igniting around them. For a moment, the Z Fighters were all impressed with the display of strength, but then Gohan emerged from the building, clothing torn, teeth clenched, but otherwise unharmed.

"Now you've made me mad," he hissed. "Prepare to die!"

  


All of Earth's warriors powered up to full instantly, and then they converged on the Nameks. For one single instant, things seemed to be even, and then one Namek fell. Capitalizing on that one weakness, the fighters redoubled their intensity. Firing a Masenko, Gohan finished off the last one. Turning back to the elder, he smirked.

"Now, where would that Dragonball be?"

"No..." he stammered, "I will... never tell you... You are evil!"

"Your words, not mine."

A flare of power wiped the Namek from existence. The Z Fighters turned back toward the city, and all of its defenseless inhabitants.


	3. Episode III: Frieza Saga

Smirking, Dodoria rose into the sky and fired a gigantic beam from his mouth that reduced where the village had been to a smoking crater. This was far too easy. It had given him a special pleasure to wipe the ignorant look off of all of their faces. In fact, wipe any look off of their faces. Snickering, he turned around and prepared to take the Dragonball back to Frieza.

Off to the side, Dodoria saw something bright flash. Focusing, he turned on his scouter and aimed it toward the apparent disturbance. There was a battle going on, and at the site of another village! Flying to the nearest of the small flunkies, Dodoria handed them the Dragonball and headed toward the village. If he kept this up, Frieza might give him a serious raise!

Kooie looked around carefully, scanning the area with his scanner. Dodoria and Zarbon had taken his leads on villages before he could go for them. As much as he hated them, he did respect the power that they possessed, and the power that they represented. Just then, he found something. Not very much of a ki, but he figured it was worth checking out.

If this really was a Dragonball, it'd be the hardest to find, and so he'd get the most glory. That worked for him well enough. Flying there, he saw a single building, perched atop a large cliff. Landing, he prepared to step inside, but a dark form barred his way.

"You cannot enter here."

"I can enter where ever I please! Who are you to question one of Frieza's highest military officers?"

"There is evil in your heart. I cannot allow you to enter here and endanger the greatest Elder."

"Well kid, you should be worried about yourself, not him."

Just then the Namek from within flew at him, hitting him with a hard punch in the stomach. Flying backward, Kooie righted himself and scanned the Namek before him carefully.

"You're strong, kid, about 10,000. I'd like to know your name before I kill you."

"My name is Nail," the green fighter spoke softly, then braced himself again, "and I am giving you one last chance to leave here."

"Ha!"

Flying down, Kooie slammed him down toward the ground, then intercepted his flight and punched him around a while. As the Namek tumbled backward, Kooie launched a final blast to finish him off. But when the dust cleared, the Namek stood there, still very much alive.

Before he could be surprised long, Kooie felt a blow hammer him backward. Appearing above him, Nail elbowed Kooie into the ground, then stomped on him. Jumping up, Kooie began firing blasts toward Nail, then kept firing, blasting him into oblivion. If one blast wouldn't do it, then he'd just use hundreds.

In the next instant he sensed Nail's presence behind him, but the Namek had already struck, sending him tumbling. Landing, Kooie turned back to him and tapped his scouter again.

"What! 30,000! This can't be!" breathing heavily, he realized this Namek had even greater power than he did. This was incredible!

"This is not my max," Nail said calmly, "what does your metal thing say about this?"

Energy flowed around Nail as the Namek powered up. Kooie gasped as the scouter's rating mounted higher, to 40,000, then 55,000. Just as it seemed to make yet another jump, larger than any before, it shattered, unable to take the strain. Nail leaped forward and punched directly through Kooie, letting him fall to the ground lifelessly. Flying back up, he entered the house again and sat before the entrance, waiting.

"He was not the one, master."

"No," a voice wafted from the shadows inside, "but soon. Very soon."

Goku got up from the hospital bed and stretched, muscles rippling. That rest was all he needed, and now he was feeling in top shape again. Walking out of the room, he ran past the attendants in the hallways and flew out the door, which banged open against the wall. Arcing up into the sky, Goku looked around. He needed to find his house. It didn't take that long, as he knew where he was and had a good hold on his surroundings. Right now he really wanted to see his wife Chi-chi again. And he was hungry.

It took him only a few minutes to reach his house. Goku landed and walked into the door. Shoot, it didn't smell like food in here, he had hoped to eat something. Looking around, he moved into the next room. Chi-chi was there reading a book. When she saw him she dropped it.

"I'm home!" Goku said happily. 

"How can you dare to come back here?" Chi-chi practically screamed at him.

"What?" Goku was genuinely puzzled.

"It's bad enough that you took Gohan away! Now he's going to Namek!"

"That wasn't my choice!" Goku protested, "he wanted to go! Piccolo trained him while I was dead. Remember the Raditz fight?"

"I hate you!" Chi-chi was screaming now. "Get out of the house!"

Stumbling backward, Goku knocked open the door, tripped and fell on his back. He tried to get up.

"Chi-chi, I don't understand, I-" The door slammed right in his face.

Goku, holding his head in his hands, sitting in the dirt, heard a soft chuckle behind him. He whirled around, but was relieved that it was just Piccolo standing there.

"Ah, humanity," Piccolo said softly, his eyes looking vaguely amused and yet sorrowful, "you could have done better than her, Goku."

"I don't understand," Goku mumbled, not getting up. "What did I do wrong? I just don't understand..."

Piccolo stepping around in front of him and, first checking to see if there was anyone looking, put his hands on Goku's shoulders. Goku leaned forward, a few tears falling from his eyes. Piccolo wasn't used to displays of affection, but he would do almost anything for his friend.

"Goku, this is something that is going to be very hard for you to understand, considering how much you try not to. Most people hate us, Goku. Me, you, anyone who is different. Anyone at all actually. There's an evil dark energy in the planet, a horrible corruption. It is not your fault, Goku. You were everything a good father should be. The plain and simple truth is that there's too much hate here to survive."

"I still can't believe that," Goku almost sobbed. "People should all actually be good inside. We risked everything to protect this world, Piccolo, are we going to throw it all away? Are they going to throw it all away?"

"Yes," Piccolo smiled sadly, "they'd prefer to hate us than accept us as the saviors of their planet."

"You can't blame them, really." Goku was getting a better handle on his emotions now. "The saiyans did wipe out a tenth of the people on Earth."

"They haven't seen anything yet," Piccolo whispered softly into the wind, eyes haunted.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything. Perhaps your view is better than mine. You have faith in the humanity of humans, maybe I need to find mine again. But in any case, I can guarantee that you need to keep out of the house for a while.

"That's why I'm here. You need to be on Namek. Don't ask me how I know, but it is very important. People will die unless you get there. Kami attempted to keep you back, even kill you, but King Yemma wouldn't let him. He thinks that he has won this fight, but he didn't count on me."

Piccolo smiled. "I have my ship. It can only support one person, but you can train on it I'm giving it to you, Goku."

"Thanks, Piccolo, but what about you?"

"I'll get to Namek somehow. In the meantime, get on my ship and get moving. Time is of the essence. It's over there in the clearing."

"Thank you, Piccolo." Goku used him as support to get to his feet. "For everything."

With that, Goku was gone.

Standing by the house, Piccolo smiled softly and kindly, the type of smile that rarely graced his features. This was a very dangerous game he was playing here, and he was playing with the Kami himself. But he would win, just one battle at a time.

Glancing at the house, Piccolo contemplated destroying it. It would do Goku some good. He thought a while, finding inner peace. No, it would be best to let Chi-chi live. It would make everything more painful, but things would turn out all right, somehow.

Sighing, Piccolo walked from the valley. Suddenly he felt a telepathic message coming to him. Namekiian telepathy was a wonderful ability, but unfortunately, Kami could use it as much as he did.

__

You can't win, Piccolo.

I can, Kami. Oh, I can. Do you really think something like death can stop me? If I die, so do you.

You will never win.

We will see, my friend, we will see...

High above on Kami's Lookout, Kami pounded his fist on his throne's armrest. Piccolo was being mysterious and cryptic. Kami couldn't even begin to see what sort of game he was playing. Everything was shaping up to be just fine, why was Piccolo so worried?

Whatever it was, it was beginning to make Kami worried as well. He sighed and left the hall.

Goku found the controls of the ship fairly easily. Piccolo had it calibrated to head back to Namek anyway, so all Goku had to do was press the launch button. The ship closed up and lifted off. As soon as it was out of the atmosphere, Goku got up and began looking around. It was very cramped, with all the bare necessities in a very small space. A thin ladder was on one wall, Goku climbed up it, squeezed through a small hole and looked around.

The second floor of the ship was empty, with a large computer terminal along one wall. Goku walked over to it and looked around. It was pretty simple. There were a bunch of red buttons along the bottom with inscriptions on them. Goku peered down and saw 10G, 20G, 30G and so on. It went all the way up to 100 before there was a little computer screen.

Below it, there was a small keyboard with numbers on it. There was a small note taped on it in Piccolo's odd handwriting. It said to punch in any number higher then 100 here. This all made sense to even Goku, who knew he wasn't the smartest guy on the planet. Pressing the 50G button, he began training in the room.

A few hours later, Yajirobe was almost collapsing at every step.

"Guys, I haven't eaten anything for the last five minutes! I'm tired!"

"Stop complaining," Bulma growled at him, "we're almost there."

"In fact," Gohan had the Dragonball Radar out again, "it should be just over this ridge."

Everyone, with the exception of Yajirobe, bolted the last distance to reach the ridge. Down below, they saw a simple village. Most of the Nameks stood outside, watching them. Yajirobe caught up with them just as they started to walk down to the village.

The village Elder stepped forward, "What do you want from us?" he asked softly.

"Your Dragonball," Gohan told him coldly.

"Are your intentions pure? What do you want to use it for?"

"I don't need this!" Gohan roared, temper flaring instantly. "Every time, the same thing, the same message! Give it now!"

The Guru hastily nodded to a few others.

Behind him, a few other Nameks revealed the Dragonball, which they held between them.

"We'll take that," Gohan smirked, flying forward faster then the Nameks could see and grabbing the Dragonball.

"No!" the Elder cried, running forward. Gohan dodged and tripped him up.

"No," a voice said from behind Gohan. "I'll take that."

Everyone whirled around. They saw a large, fat pink alien, standing in saiyan armor and looking very menacing. Taking a closer look, Bulma realized it wasn't quite saiyan armor; it was blue and the shoulder guards were smaller, but it was close enough. Before Gohan could react, the alien grabbed the Dragonball from his hands.

"Aliens," the Elder muttered, "never should have trusted them. They are all evil ones, mark that my young Nameks."

Gohan rushed forward, but the pink blob bounced out of the way and body slammed him into the ground.

"You are a fool to attack me," it laughed, "I am Dodoria, one of Frieza's greatest warriors! You weaklings cannot defeat me!"

At that moment, Gohan got up and kicked Dodoria hard in the stomach. He went tumbling backward. Tien raised his hands.

"Triangle Cannon!"

Dodoria looked up in time to see that Tien's fingers were up in the shape of a triangle, the image inside was already zoomed on Dodoria and then the triangular ki blast was launched. The blast flew out, frying Dodoria. When the smoke cleared, the alien was still standing there. He moved forward in a pink blur. One kick sent Yajirobe out cold. In an instant he rounded on the others and started beating them all across the village. But he paused before attacking Krillin, and that was a mistake.

"Solar Flare!"

The giant flash of energy burst out, hitting their enemy's eyes. Blinded, Dodoria stumbled backward, giving Gohan time to ram him into the ground. Muttering curses, Dodoria backhanded him off. He faced them again, and they realized with some dread that he wasn't too much worse for the wear.

Vegita smiled as he sat in his chair. He was healed, and thanks to the saiyan gene of becoming stronger after near death experiences, his power had reached incredible new heights. Now he was going to Namek, where he would wish for immortality. Once he had that, Kakkarrot could never defeat him. Everything was going according to his plan, everything was working perfectly. Kakkarrot wasn't even on the planet, and the only ones there were a bunch of weaklings.

His ship landed, and Vegita stepped from it. He was surprised for a second, as he was in the middle of a Namekiian village. Glancing around, he saw all the Nameks cowering in fear. Then he saw what made them so worried. The Z-warriors from Earth were facing off with Dodoria. Vegita remembered him well, he was Frieza's left hand man. He wasn't a problem for him now, merely an annoyance.

But he was a bit late. It appeared that the battle was over. All of the Z-warriors lay sprawled out of the ground, defeated or unconscious. Dodoria picked up the Dragonball, swung that one woman over his shoulder and started flying off. What was her name? Bulma? Something like that, it didn't matter.

Running, Vegita sprang into the air and struck Dodoria before he got up to full flight speed. This made him lose his momentum, but it didn't matter. Dodoria spilled everything as he went down. Vegita allowed his fat to take most of the fall, then leaped off him. Bulma was okay, but so was Dodoria. That was who really mattered.

The pink alien charged at him, but Vegita dodged his punch, then kneed him in the gut. Dodoria fell away and launched an energy blast his way, but Vegita knocked it straight back at him. Grabbing a tree, which he noticed was also blue like the grass, Vegita swung it around, knocking Dodoria into the air. As he sailed up, Vegita quickly got out of sight and prepared for his finisher.

Flying up into the air, Dodoria looked around wildly for Vegita, but didn't see him anywhere. Suddenly he heard a noise, one that filled his heart with a cold fear.

"Galic Gun!"

Glancing up, Dodoria saw Vegita streaking down at him, his hands cupped before him. Energy disks flew from them and slammed down at him, blasting him into a large crater on the ground. Vegita landed and smirked at the dust that remained. In times past, Dodoria had intimidated him, but now he had just killed him easily! There was a whole new level of power for him to explore, and this was barely the beginning.

Bulma was just getting up. He glanced down at her carelessly.

"You saved me?"

"That's right woman."

Suddenly Vegita felt himself being propelled into a pinnacle of rock. After taking the hard blow, he whirled around on his attacker. 

"Zarbon!" he hissed. Now he was battling more of Frieza's minions. Zarbon was Frieza's right hand man, a lot stronger then the pink freak, at least that was what his sources told him. Much taller and less fat than Dodoria, Zarbon's blue skin went well with a blue shaded armor. They must have been working together again, like always.

"Do you know me?" Zarbon said, brushing green hair from one eye. "Well, I'm flattered. Shame you killed Dodoria. That was, I'm afraid, unpardonable. Prepare to die, saiyan ."

"My power is beyond anything you have ever seen," Vegita smirked. "You cannot beat me!"

"I wouldn't bet on that," Zarbon told him, getting into a fighting stance. "The scouter says your power level is 100,000. Just one more saiyan up the creek without a paddle."

Vegita was surprised. Zarbon had a scouter? He had owned one once, but while trying to read Goku's power level, it had broken. Leaping forward, Vegita bashed Zarbon pretty hard. Flipping back, Zarbon launched an energy bolt at him. Vegita deflected it, but got it squarely in the face as Zarbon slapped it back at him again. They got closer and started fighting in earnest.

Piccolo tapped a few buttons and the spaceship rose into the air. Looking from the window, he gazed down at Capsule Corps, which quickly became no more than a speck beneath him. He was lucky it wouldn't take him long to reach Namek, because they needed it desperately.

Something was going to go horribly wrong, but to help stave off complete destruction, Goku had to be there. But at this point, Piccolo really didn't know what all had to be done. By the time things came up, he'd hopefully have some answers, because this was as delicate as a card house, one false move and it'd all cave in. Even if things went perfectly, there was a chance of failure. Would it be enough?

Folding his legs and hovering, Piccolo allowed his mind to reach a state of perfect calm. There would be answers, somehow.


	4. Episode IV: Frieza Saga

Vegita flew forward, kneeing Zarbon right in the face. He collapsed and fell to the ground. Vegita moved back and started breathing heavily, smirk evident on his face.

"What's the matter, Zarbon?" He panted. "Not quite up to my level of skill?"

"Not really," Zarbon didn't sound out of breath. "I'm far beyond it!"

Flipping to his feet, Zarbon began powering up, energy crackling around him. His body expanded and became taller, his mouth got longer and filled with razor sharp teeth. Muscles suddenly appeared where none had been before. The thing roared and charged at him. Vegita tried to dodge, but got clipped on the shoulder, the force of the blow making him lose control. Zarbon kicked him in the face and into a tree.

"What's the matter, Vegita?" Zarbon mocked, "You look a little tired!"

"What is this?" he gasped, getting to his feet.

"Oh nothing, just my real form." As Vegita gaped, Zarbon snickered, "Didn't expect that? Well, sorry. I do so love beauty, but oftentimes one must sacrifice for power. But I suppose to put an end to rebellious weaklings like you, I need to get a bit stronger. Do you have another form too? Oh wait, you're already ugly enough, you must be in your second form, huh?"

Gritting his teeth, Vegita ripped the tree out of the ground and swung it at Zarbon. The alien merely laughed and caught it. As Zarbon lifted the tree up into the air, Vegita felt himself rising higher with a sense of dread. Before he could let go of it, Zarbon brought the tree down and smashed him into the ground.

Angrily charging, Vegita attacked with all his might. Zarbon was flung back and fell to the ground. Vegita charged forward, but Zarbon's foot came up, getting him right in the chin. He fell, only to meet Zarbon's knee. When he landed, this time he couldn't get up.

Laughing, Zarbon moved back down to his more ordinary form. Grabbing Vegita's limp body and an unconscious Bulma, he walked over to his concealed ship.

Vegita suddenly awoke, just as he was tossed into a tube of a greenish liquid. A rejuvenation chamber? Why would Zarbon put him into a rejuvenation chamber? Then he saw a dial to the right of it as Zarbon touched it. At the moment, it was set on healing. However, Zarbon then moved it over to status. Suddenly Vegita felt the liquid tighten. He couldn't move an inch.

Seeing that he was fully trapped, Vegita started thinking. What had happened? Zarbon had suddenly gotten bigger and stronger, how had that happened? Vegita had been winning until he had transformed. The solution came as he remembered what he had learned long ago. Changlings could hide their true power with transformations. It helped them conserve energy or something like that. He knew that Frieza, and his father, were Changlings, but apparently Zarbon was one, too. That was unexpected, as was the power he had. If only he had had more time to test out his new power! If he had reached the next level, Zarbon would have been nothing.

But now what was going to happen? Vegita realized that Frieza was on the planet, he felt his ki at another location. Not Frieza! Vegita's eyes widened, even in the status field. Frieza had hired the saiyans to help him in his business. Mainly, to wipe out planets and sell them to the highest bidder. But Vegita had always been told that Frieza feared a Super Saiyan would come, and that he had destroyed the entire planet. There had only been a few saiyans left alive, now only he and Kakkarrot were left. But something didn't seem right about that story, why didn't they let him go back and see the remains of the planet? For the whole time after the destruction of Planet Vegita, they had never allowed him to return. There had to be a scheme somewhere. And now Frieza was coming. This was going to be painful, and it was going to end in his death, unless he could do something...

He couldn't. If he had been in better shape, he could have broken the tube and gotten out, status field or no, but after that beat down, he wasn't feeling like bending steel, much less that. Now he was in very deep trouble. Another thought entered his mind. What had happened to the woman? Once he actually looked, Vegita saw her quickly. She was sitting, bound by ropes, across the ship. Zarbon was no where to be seen.

There was a slight sawing sound. Vegita watched as a mini-buzz saw moved from Bulma's hand to cut through the ropes. They looked at each other for what seemed to be an eternity, then Bulma moved over to the tank and turned the dial back to healing. Vegita managed a smile. At least she was smart. Now if only Zarbon didn't come in here until he was healed, Vegita could recover with more power than ever before. He concentrated on recovery.

Goku finished with 80G training, but now he was bored. And that was a bad thing, because he started thinking about Chi-chi and what had happened. He collapsed down onto the floor, barely able to move, but not because of the gravity. Before, he had always ignored the obvious, submerging himself in a false sense of happiness. But now, that seemed childish, so much like the lie he knew it was. Unsheltered, he took the full brunt of the pain.

"Why?" he gasped out to no one, "Why?"

Shaking his head, he reordered his thoughts. No, he couldn't think about that. If he thought about that, he would break up and be worthless. It was a futile effort. Anger filled him; why did this have to happen? Leaping up, he decided to solve his problems for now in the one way he knew.

Running over to the computer, he moved to the keypad. He entered 200G in it. The force almost crushed him to the ground, but he moved up again. Gaining his footing he started bouncing around the room at full speed crashing into the walls. This was going to kill him if he didn't watch out, but Goku didn't care. All he wanted to do was bury his emotions in the training. Conscious thought ceased.

Vegita felt better now. A few more minutes and it would be like this never happened. Except for the large power increase, plus even more potential he could unlock. Bulma was still sitting there, watching him. Vegita thought that maybe it would be acceptable to have some allies that were not warriors, as they couldn't hurt him. They'd had a lot of time to look at each other in the past time, and he'd been doing some thinking.

Just then Zarbon came rushing in, having somehow sensed something. He took in the situation in a heartbeat, then moved on Bulma. Vegita decided that it was time to act. Pushing his power out, he shattered the glass surrounding him. Flying forward, he landed a kick on Zarbon's head. Zarbon went blasting out of the side of the ship, and Vegita followed, kicking him in the chest and to the ground.

Getting up, Zarbon transformed again into his next form. Rushing at Vegita, they began fighting at close quarters. Snarling, Zarbon backed up and shot out a giant beam of power at him. Vegita launched his own. The beams battled back and forth, but Vegita's began to inch back toward him.

"You are still no match for me!" Zarbon laughed evilly. Vegita just smiled.

"I learned to hide my power on Earth!" Vegita laughed back at him. He powered up.

"150,000? No! That's impossible!" Zarbon looked mortified.

Vegita chuckled as his beam blasted back at Zarbon and knocked him to the ground. Vegita zipped forward and checked his pulse. There wasn't one. He smiled, but then remembered that Frieza was coming. Cursing, he realized he needed to get out of here fast. Flying back to the ship long enough to pick up Bulma and some proper armor, Vegita vacated the premises as quickly as possible.

A few hours later, the royal car of Frieza's touched down in the area. When he exited from the car, the effect was far from stunning. He was fairly small, around five feet tall. Small saiyan armor surrounded him, and his head had two large spikes that protruded from either side of the back. Zarbon had said that he had one of the saiyans, but hadn't killed him yet. Frieza really wanted to question him and had come as soon as he possibly could. There was a chance he had seen through the lie.

But when he looked around, he saw a giant hole in the side of Zarbon's ship. Zarbon was dead on the ground, and Dodoria lay a short distance away. Frieza cursed.

"Weaklings, why do I use them?" Pulling a communicator from his belt, he pressed the button.

"What is it, oh great Frieza?"

"Shut up and get your Ginyu Force over here. Now. We have a serious problem on our hands."

"Whatever you say, oh great one!"

"Out."

Frieza shook his head. Bah, weaklings. His goal was immortality. If Captain Ginyu got his hands on the Dragonballs, he'd probably wish to be the best dancer in the world or something. They were stupid, but the Ginyu Force had yet to lose a fight. Of course, they hadn't fought him.

Yajirobe got up to see Yamcha staring at him.

"You're finally up. We need to get moving. Everyone else has already recovered and are finding the Dragonballs already. Hurry!"

Yajirobe followed him as fast as he could waddle. It took a few hours, but they finally got to where the others were.

"Have any problems?" Yamcha asked.

"The Nameks in the third village gave us some trouble. We cut them down," Gohan replied.

"Yeah, we have four of them now. We just need to go back to our stash," Tien added

They all moved together, Gohan led them through some trees. Two hills became visible in front of them. 

"It's just right between those hills," Gohan explained. They moved there, sure enough, there were three Dragonballs already there. Gohan dropped the fourth with the others. Suddenly everyone heard a voice laughing behind them, everyone whirled around.

The Ginyu Force stood there, spanning the gap between the hills. As soon as they were noticed, the entire Force assumed strange poses and yelled. This was enough to make Krillin laugh. Faster then anyone could see, the large blue one punched him full in the face. Krillin hit the hill, unconscious. The blue guy rushed back and continued standing on one foot.

"We are the Ginyu Force. The strongest warriors in the galaxy. We have never lost a fight. Ever." The middle one said this, polishing one of the two spikes on his head. They were all wearing saiyan armor, but theirs' were black-colored. The middle one had purple skin and the same insignia they all had, an arch on a brown circle.

"I am Captain Ginyu, leader of the Force," he continued, then waved to the others theatrically, "and these are:"

"Burter," the big blue one announced. His red eyes glowed with an unnatural light.

"Jiece," a red skinned one with a huge head of white hair said.

"Recoome," a giant, hulking alien mumbled. He was bald except for a giant orange colored mohawk.

"Guldo," the shortest, fat one finished, sickly green skin wrinkling.

"And be prepared to meet your maker!" 

They again assumed their poses. Gohan dropped into a fighting position. Recoome laughed at him.

"Let me take the little one!"

"No, I want to!" Jiece whined.

"Wait, wait everyone, don't argue" Captain Ginyu yelled. "Let's solve this in the civilized manner all people do. Fight for it."

"I have a better idea," Burter said. "Let's do paper-rock-scissors. I do so love paper rock scissors!"

"That's a great idea," Captain Ginyu agreed. "Let's all do the 'Dance of Agreement'!"

"Yay!" Burter waved his arms and bounced in excitement.

They all started jumping into the air, as one by one the warrior's jaw's dropped.

"What?" Captain Ginyu turned to face them, everyone was staring at him. "Is there something on my face or something?"

"You guys are complete idiots. Especially this dance and strange colors thing. You disgust me," Gohan spat at them. "Fight like men."

The Ginyu Force turned on them and they all sprung into action. Whether they were angered by Gohan's comment or by the interruption, it wasn't clear. Burter moved so fast, he had made ten circles around them before they could drop into a fighting stance. Jiece's acrobatic flips left them all dizzy and confused. Guldo held his breath and time froze for everyone else as he had an open season on the warriors. When he couldn't hold his breath any longer, all the warriors could move and charged Recoome. He laughed as they mobbed him with ineffective blows.

In a matter of seconds, they were all on the ground again, beaten.

"And now," Captain Ginyu said evilly, pausing an ominous second, "Let's do the 'Dance of Victory'!"

"Yay!" the rest cried. They began twirling around.

Vegita dropped Bulma off by a hill. It was unfortunate they'd had to stop, but he felt something here. Wiping the large smirk off his face, he moved toward the battle. To his surprise, he saw the Ginyu Force there, performing another of their dances. Once he had found them intimidating and funny, but now that he had some intelligence about him, he saw them as weak and stupid.

Leaping forward, he slugged Captain Ginyu right across the face. Roaring, the Captain leaped up again and looked at him.

"Who are you?" 

"I am Prince Vegita! I am the mightiest saiyan ever to walk the universe!"

"Oh yeah, another one of you guys. Oh well, whaddya want?"

"I'll kill you all for being in league with Frieza! Next time he thinks about destroying my planet, he'll be doing so in the Afterlife!"

"What?" Jeice cocked his head. "What are you-"

"Zip it," Captain Ginyu hissed. "Remember?"

"Ohhhhh," Jiece winked obviously at him. "Right."

"Pay attention to me!" Vegita growled.

Captain Ginyu yawned. Snarling, Vegita leaped forward. But this time Captain Ginyu was ready, he dodged to the side, grabbed Vegita's arm and flipped him to the ground. Vegita got up and kicked him in the face, but Captain Ginyu's head barely jerked back before he shot two eyes beams that plowed Vegita into a hill. He followed up quickly, hitting him hard, doubling him over. Vegita attacked, knocking Captain Ginyu back, but he returned and knocked him into the ground.

"Now, where were we?" Captain Ginyu asked, turning back to the group.

"Shouldn't we kill all those guys we just beat?" Jiece asked. The others looked at him in astonishment.

"You're really smart," Recoome said.

"Right, then we can get back to our dance," Captain Ginyu agreed. 

Suddenly an object streaked across the sky, distracting them from their purpose. It landed and was revealed to be a spaceship, the hatch opened and a figure stepped out, momentarily clothed in the hydraulic mists that floated from the ship. The Ginyu Force circled around the entrance and waited for whoever it was.

Goku stepped out, and into the middle of the Ginyu Force. 

Frieza had finally located what he was looking for, the holder of the Dragonballs. Guru was the creator of the Dragonballs, and thus the only person on the planet who could unravel the Namek Dragonballs and stop him from completing his quest for immortality. Now he was flying toward Guru's house, where he would kill him, then start his base of operations. He had heard there was also a Dragonball there, which he intended to pick up.

The house came into view, Frieza landed in front of it. Suddenly a Namek flew out of the house. This couldn't be Guru, this one was younger and slimmer and also stronger. He wore a plain purple gi with a blue sash. Simple Namekiian clothing.

"Who are you?" they both asked the question at the same time. Frieza answered first.

"I am Frieza, soon to be the Immortal Master of the Galaxy!"

"I am Nail. I serve Guru."

"So you're going to try and protect him and keep me from becoming immortal?" Frieza laughed.

"I have to try. If I didn't, my life would mean nothing. I may fail, but I must try."

Annoyed at this display of loyalty, Frieza dropped into a fighting position. With as speed that caught Frieza completely off guard, Nail struck him on the side of his head. Frieza's head whipped around, and he hovered there a second, then turned back toward him, chuckling. His face held no signs of taking a hit.

Nail darted forward, slamming hundreds of blows on him as fast as possible. They did nothing. Frieza laughed and backhanded him off. He flew forward, but Frieza grabbed his arm and hurled him into the ground. The Namek got up faster than Frieza had anticipated and hit him in the back; again, no effect.

Nail flew at him again, this time zipping around him and back-kicking him. Frieza whirled and slammed him down. Nail bounced off the house roof and fired a giant beam. It hit Frieza dead on, but did little damage. Frieza laughed and began to gather ki.

"Death Ball!"

The ki ball sped toward Nail, who took it in the stomach and crashed through the roof. Frieza followed up. Inside, Guru sat on his throne. Nail was sprawled against a wall, undoubtably dead. No one could survive Frieza's Death Ball. A Dragonball rested on a pedestal in front of Guru. The giant-sized Namek shifted in his white robe and purple jacket, his eyes rolling up to meet Frieza's.

"So you are here," Guru said calmly, looking at him.

"Yes, I am, you worthless Namek."

"You are like all the rest," Guru said softly. "You'll never survive. You live by power alone, never letting anything get to you. Never feeling normal emotions. In the times to come, even the strongest need allies. People like you have one fate ahead of them. Unless you are the Legendary One, there is always some force stronger than you. Someday you'll meet your better, Frieza. And you'll make yourself their enemy, Frieza, and you won't have any allies to help you. You'll die, Frieza."

"Stop it!" Frieza shrieked. The old Namek's words were disturbing him greatly. His mind seemed to echo with them a few instants after they faded from the air. Something about them seemed to ring true, and he hated it.

Guru did not stop, he stood up. For the first time in years, the enormous Namek got to his feet.

"You will die, Frieza, because of the hate within you! You'll die the same way so many others have died, betrayed!"

The Namek collapsed into his chair, exhausted.

"Shut up!" Frieza launched energy from his fingers, blowing away the Eldest Namek. A second before dying, the aged Namek smiled a soft smile and then was vaporized. The Dragonball on the pedestal suddenly flashed, the star spluttered and winked out. The entire ball turned to stone, Frieza grabbed it and gazed at it, horrified.

"You really are a fool, aren't you?" Nail's voice whispered from the corner of the room.

"I'll kill you!" Frieza roared.

"You can't," Nail said even more faintly, "I am beyond your reach."

With that, he died. Frieza blasted his carcase to bits, to fragments, to vapor, but nothing could stop the words from repeating in his mind. The Dragonball slipped from his fingers and shattered on the floor. They had tricked him. The Dragonballs were useless. By dying, the elderly Namek had also ruined the Dragonballs. Frieza cursed his own stupidity. Guru's voice floated after him, attacking his mind.

Grabbing his head, Frieza, most powerful being in the galaxy, destroyer of worlds, ran and fled.


	5. Episode V: Frieza Saga

"Who are you and what are you?" Captain Ginyu asked. Goku sighed and his eyes looked depressed. It seemed almost sacrilege for him to have lost his usual happy buoyancy. 

"I'm Goku. I'm a saiyan."

"And what are you here for?"

"That depends, I suppose." Goku sighed again, still looking discouraged. "Who are you?"

"We are the Ginyu Force!" the entire group sang out in sing-songy voices.

"Does that mean you work for Frieza?"

"Yup," Jiece nodded, "he's here."

"Oh, that's great," Goku said, sadly sarcastic, something completely alien to his normal voice. "Now I have the most powerful being in the universe to contend with, too. Splendid."

"You won't be a bit of a problem," Recoome smirked. "We already whipped the strongest saiyan in the universe, so you can't be much of a challenge."

"Vegita?" Goku asked. "Okay, whatever you say."

"Guldo, finish him," Captain Ginyu barked. Something unnerved him about this saiyan.

Guldo ran forward, then suddenly held his breath. Time froze, except Guldo, who flew forward in a kick directly to Goku's chest. He hit dead on, and nothing happened. Guldo's eyes widened, but he kept attacking. His blows did no good, Goku just kept standing there. Trying everything, uppercuts, hooks, below the belt shots, none of it had any effect. Guldo uprooted a tree and hit it over Goku's head as hard as he could. The tree broke in half. Goku was still standing there. Finally Guldo couldn't hold his breath any longer.

"That was interesting," Goku smiled a bit sadly, although some of his old sparkle had returned, "but it won't work."

"I can do it over and over, does it really matter?" Guldo laughed evilly. 

Goku instantly zipped forward, grabbing Guldo in a choke hold.

"Not if you don't have any air, my friend."

Guldo choked and spluttered. Soon, however, he started to waver. He grew less solid, he started to fray apart. Power and streams of matter slipped through the air, entering Goku. Eventually nothing was left. Goku smiled and turned to the rest of the Ginyu Force.

"I certainly hope he wasn't representative of the rest of you."

"He was a weakling," Recoome laughed. "His only strength was that trick of his. I am the brute force of the group. I have muscle everywhere!"

"Including your head," Goku said. He still seemed sad, but fighting had already put him in a better mood. "Are you next?"

Recoome charged forward, bashing Goku in the face. Goku returned blows, and they started fighting in a shower of blows that the other Ginyu Force members couldn't follow. Eventually Goku fell from the fray, landing on the ground, his lip bleeding.

"You are strong, a bit over 200,000," Recoome said, holding his scouter, "but I am 250,000!"

Goku stood up and shook his head. He suddenly powered up, his lip healed itself together and was in perfect condition. Though he didn't smile, Goku seemed to be enjoying himself.

Recoome gasped, "Now it's 300,000!"

"Show me your true power!" Captain Ginyu roared. "All of it! Every last bit!"

"It doesn't matter," Goku said gloomily again. "Fine, if it makes you happy. Let me finish this first."

Yelling, Recoome charged forward in a flying head butt. He may as well have head butted a wall. He rocked back, clutching his head. Goku wasn't fazed and slammed Recoome in the head, then grabbed him by the hair. In the same way Guldo did, Recoome vanished as well.

Turning back to Captain Ginyu, Goku unleashed his power around him, powering up to full.

"One million!" Captain Ginyu gasped. "That's impossible!"

"How did you get so strong?" Jiece cried.

"Must be my diet," Goku said, still not smiling. "I always drink my grape juice and eat my peas."

"Ahhh! Idiot!" Captain Ginyu muttered.

Goku shook his head. Suddenly both figures were disrupted as they saw a few others standing off to the side.

"Nice going, Dad," Gohan yelled sarcastically. "We were doing just fine until you had to come!"

"Yeah, why do you always ruin our fun?" Krillin joined in.

Goku staggered under their completely unexpected verbal assault. Before, this sort of thing had always been easily ignored, not even scratching his cheerfulness. Now, however, he couldn't dredge up any part of his old shield. Everything was a lie, and he couldn't forget that.

"Why?" he gasped on his knees. "Not my son and friends as well!"

Jiece took the opportunity to fly forward in a flying kick. The saiyan's head jerked up before it connected, he grabbed Jiece's foot and pounded him into the ground. Jiece started bouncing around him in a series of flashy moves. Goku moved alongside and copied them all exactly, hitting Jiece at every turn. He fell as Goku grabbed his face and smashed him into the ground. Touching Jiece's arm, Goku glowed softly as Jiece wavered and disappeared. For a while Goku continued to grieve, and when he got up, and the last spark of his old self in his eyes was gone.

"Who is next?" he said mechanically, turning to them. Burter flew forward. He start running circles around Goku, who looked like he was fenced in by a large solid blue triangle.

"I am far faster than this guy!" Burter crowed, the sound distorted. "Now watch me finish him!" 

Burter tried to punch and Goku's hand came up, catching his fist behind his head. Burter took a solid blow, then began circling around at an even more intense speed. Goku this time elbowed him backward into the ground. Burter flung himself on him, and two tons of muscle landed on Goku. The saiyan put up a hand and held Burter up above him. He fired a blast through him, and the blue monster didn't move again.

After waving and unraveling, Burter disappeared as well. Captain Ginyu suddenly started laughing. Everyone there realized that he had been charging up the entire battle. Captain Ginyu launched a monstrous ball of ki at Goku. It sped forward with intense speed, blasting Goku head on. 

When the light vanished, Goku still stood there, unharmed. Captain Ginyu gasped.

"You asked to see my full power, this is it. It went up a bit after absorbing the rest of the force." Tears still gleamed in Goku's eyes.

"2,500,000!" The shock made Captrain Ginyu stagger. Goku had him on the ground in one flick of a finger.

"Change!" Captain Ginyu leaped into the air and launched his energy all out at Goku. It hit, dealing no damage, but then there was a sudden flowing of spirit between them. Goku found himself in Captain Ginyu's body, and Captain Ginyu was in Goku's! Goku wasn't able to stand and collapsed. Captain Ginyu flexed his fingers, or rather Goku's fingers.

"Perfect," he hissed, turning to the Z Fighters. "Prepare to die."

"Can we really fight him?" Yajirobe asked, "He is your dad, Gohan."

"My father may as well be dead," Gohan hissed, "for all he cares about me. Even Piccolo was a better father to me. Kill his body, and Captain Ginyu with it. I don't care."

"Nooooo!"

Goku in Ginyu's body leaped up, showing strength no one thought he had. He jumped out in between both sides. Purple tears were falling freely from Captrain Ginyu's alien eyes. Goku spread his limbs wide and:

"Change!"

In a flash, everyone was back in the bodies they were supposed to be in. Goku was staggering, apparently very wounded from his experience as Captain Ginyu. He fell to the ground beside the wounded captain, but slowly moved up a hand and placed it on Captain Ginyu's chest. Captain Ginyu wavered, unraveled and disappeared and energy flowed up Goku's arm. Power floated around Goku, who got up, completely healed. But now silent sobs racked his body.

With one teary-eyed glance at everyone there, Goku powered up and flew off into the distance, vanishing over the horizon nearly instantly.

"Good riddance!" Tien called after him. 

Everyone turned and looked at each other, the battle abruptly over, then looked back to where Vegita was. The saiyan had gotten to his feet and looked quite a bit better. Both sides stared at each other, but neither made a move to attack. Grunting, Vegita nodded to them.

"I'd like to kill you all, but Frieza takes precedence. If any of you tries anything, you'll regret it. As soon as I recover, I'll reach my full power, and there will be no one my equal."

"We'll see about that," Gohan smirked back at him. Vegita laughed sharply.

"If you had any idea of the level of power I have obtained, you'd be quaking in your boots."

The catcalling continued for a short while. Soon, everyone was resting up for the next item on the agenda- Frieza. Death seemed to hang in the air, along with a black wind that blew through their minds. An ominous power was gathering on the horizon.

  
  


Bardock ceased what he was doing as he sensed what was going on. He could hardly help but feel all the destruction going on on Namek. Especially with powers like Frieza and the rest of his empire fighting there. Somehow, his ability to sense the future also made him much more receptive to the present.

There was an odd power, Bardock realized, one that he didn't recognize. Who could it be? For an instant it almost felt a bit like his second son's weak ki had felt long ago. But no, that was impossible. His son had been horribly pathetic, not able to take over a planet, much less deal with real battles. Still, the resemblance was striking, and now he was thinking about his son.

Raditz had died. Bardock had received notice of his death some time ago. Now, he realized, his son was the only hope he had. If so, he was doomed. A weakling like that would disgrace him completely. The world suddenly spun around him, and Bardock dropped to his knees.

  
  


Blue grass gently waved in the wind, and the sky shone an odd green. The bizarreness of the situation took Bardock off guard for a while. Soon, however, his attention was drawn to the focus of the vision. A being he somehow knew was Frieza lay on the grass, beaten. All around the field, bodies lay scattered, as if immense destruction had taken place. So Frieza would die.

He could not sense ki inside any of his visions, but as he turned, he saw a warrior that blazed with a visible ki aura. Just imagining what type of power it took to have an aura like that made Bardock shiver. The warrior stood with his back to the field, unmoving. A wind blew through his hair slightly. Saiyan hair, Bardock realized.

Turning, the warrior glanced directly at him. Shock radiated throughout Bardock's mind as he was forced to recognize exactly who it was standing there. The world faded again.

  
  


His son? Bardock couldn't believe it. Some of his other visions hadn't ever come true. Maybe this one was also nothing but a lie. It was conceivable that he had merely forced himself to have it, thinking about his son. Still, for now, it meant nothing. What struck him more, was how the warrior had looked at him. In every vision he had ever had, he had been insubstantial. But that time, he was sure, the warrior looked directly in his eyes.

Shrugging the memory off, Bardock cleared his mind and left the room.

  
  


It happened a few hours later. Frieza's ki was sensed by Gohan. But before it got into close proximity, another ki appeared as well, Piccolo's. Piccolo landed first, right on top of the hill. He stepped from the Capsule Corps spacecraft with a swirl of his cape.

Everyone stared at him, he gazed back and met their gazes one by one. Each time, they dropped their eyes. He sat down with them to wait for Frieza to arrive. Piccolo shook his head at himself, wondering what he was doing. There was no way they could defeat Frieza without Goku's help. But he had felt what had happened. Goku was gone. He searched for peace inside himself again, and found it very quickly. Now was not the time for action, not yet.

Frieza was almost here. Piccolo couldn't avoid sensing him now. A comet burst into the ground, and it uncurled to reveal Frieza. The evil master himself was there, ready to fight them. He was wearing a scouter on one eye and saiyan armor. It was a smaller form then Piccolo had imagined.

Sensing his power, Piccolo smiled and shook his head. Frieza only rated a half million. But Piccolo wouldn't try and deceive himself, he wasn't that much of a fool. Frieza was not nearly at 100% of his full power. Piccolo couldn't stand up to that at all. He looked over their group, wondered at their chances.

Absolutely zero, he decided. The humans were too weak even to damage Frieza, and only three of them had some power at all. Him, Vegita and Gohan all could at least annoy him. Piccolo noticed they had all obtained an entire new level of power, like he had. Vegita's power seemed to have risen greatly, to 1,500,000. If Vegita had been able to make such a big jump from his former ability, how much could Goku do? Right now Vegita outclassed Frieza, but not if the changeling powered up. Gohan was only 100,000, but his anger allowed him to get incredibly strong, so perhaps he could help a bit. And him. Piccolo sighed. He was the strongest of this group? That was pathetic. In recent times he'd spent too much time altering events, finding his truth, than in training. He had three million for his power level, but Frieza was far, far stronger than all of them.

They couldn't possibly win. Why did they try? But Piccolo felt at peace with himself, so this must be the right thing to do.

"Well, well, well," Frieza laughed. "This is a great welcoming party." 

"You will die, fiend!" Gohan yelled, running at him. The boy didn't take long to get to the point. A bit of subtlety would have done him some good. Piccolo watched as he did a flying head butt.

Frieza dodged to the side easily. He glanced at his scouter briefly.

"Only 100,000. You're pathetic. The least powerful saiyan I've ever seen!" A lie, Piccolo realized. Frieza did not realize how much that lie would cost him.

"I am not a saiyan!" Gohan yelled at the top of his lungs. He ran forward, bashing Frieza back. The strongest warrior in the universe was surprised by the outburst of power and was getting pummeled for it. Gohan kicked him over and over, ramming him into a rock pillar. Frieza tossed the pillar at him, but Gohan knocked it aside and charged. Frieza held out a knee to block Gohan's head, but Gohan plowed right through it and into him.

Frieza got up, coughing and choking. He looked pretty bad.

"You've gotten stronger. Your anger is your strength," he said, still mocking. Suddenly he roared and leaped to his feet. His saiyan armor snapped off, breaking into pieces around him. His body grew bigger, almost as tall as Piccolo. His head got larger and more menacing, and his spikes bent and pointed straight up into the air. The biggest change was that he now had a tail. Frieza checked his scouter again. Piccolo winced as he realized that in his first form, Frieza had hardly been trying.

"Not up to one million yet, you have 100,000 to go. That's too bad, I have greater power still."

Gohan charged, but Frieza held up a knee again. This time Gohan plowed into it and fell down, holding his head. Frieza followed up with a kick that sent him sky high. Gohan rocketed down on him, crashing him to his knees, but Frieza hit him hard on the head, knocking him into the ground. Gohan got up, but was looking tired and worn, the power gained from his anger having faded.

"Let a real saiyan take a hand." Vegita pushed Gohan aside. He stepped forward and did the same head butt. Piccolo had to smile; Frieza was foolish enough to hold out his knee again. Vegita was stronger than Frieza was in this form, so Frieza took a very hard hit. The two of them got closer, just slugging the battle out. Sighing, Piccolo turned and went back into his ship. He entered the training room and started training until the inevitable.

After a while, he heard a noise outside. Heading back out, he saw Vegita deal a kick that sent Frieza flying. When the monster landed, he was still.

"I knew you'd transform," Vegita mocked him haggardly. "Zarbon taught me that. But you're still no match for saiyan power!"

Piccolo sighed yet again. Vegita was too arrogant, he honestly thought that he had won. Frieza got up and transformed again, getting larger with a longer head. New white spikes broke out from his suddenly elongated head. Frieza's tail slowly grew out to even longer lengths. Vegita attacked, but Frieza batted him aside with his tail. Vegita flipped onto his feet again.

As he attacked Frieza, the saiyan slowly realized he wasn't getting a single blow through. Frieza was blocking everything near him. Before he could change strategy, Vegita saw Frieza disappear and felt the blow coming from behind. Rolling in midair, he turned and launched his power at close range. Taking the blast and shrugging it off, Frieza backed away.

As Vegita shakily prepared to attack again, he suddenly gasped as he felt Frieza behind him. The changeling grabbed Vegita, and the saiyan found himself helpless to escape his grasp. Laughing, Frieza grabbed Vegita's legs and began bending the saiyan backward over his knee. Vegita screamed in pain.

"Idiot," Frieza hissed. "Do you think any saiyan can stand up to a changeling?"

"You destroyed my planet," Vegita hissed. "I'll make you pay."

"Oh, that little lie," Frieza hissed. "A small matter. It was easy to make you believe I had destroyed your planet so I could control you. Trusting fool."

"You lied to me!" Vegita roared, energy exploding around him. Frieza was knocked backward by his aura, and several more blows struck him further. Leaping back across the field, Vegita raised both hands and fired.

"Galic Gun!"

The disks flew toward Frieza, who answered with his own attack. The battle raged toward Vegita, who summoned all of his strength and stopped Frieza's beam. But then, while Frieza turned up his power, Vegita ran out of energy and got hit dead on. Vegita barely got to his feet, but Piccolo decided it was time to take a hand.

Using the old flying head butt attack, Piccolo varied it a little bit. He moved up slightly, ramming Frieza's chest, not his knee. Frieza went flying backward. Piccolo flew forward and started bashing him. Though Frieza fought back, but he just wasn't strong enough.

Vegita and Gohan both recovered as the battle raged. Finally, Frieza fell from the fray, bleeding severely. Getting up, however, he shrugged off his wounds and suddenly exploded. After the pieces fell to the ground, standing among them was a new form, this one small and strange looking. It was only about five feet again, and completely white and purple. His shoulder and head had purple spots on them now, and they gleamed in the light. His tail was smaller and had a blunted end instead of a sharp one.

"Behold, my final transformation!" Frieza sneered, his voice higher pitched, yet somehow menacing. "You're the first ones I have ever needed it to beat. Prepare to be crushed."

Vegita groaned, Gohan gasped, the humans cowered, and Piccolo sighed deeply. This new form had power beyond all the others he had seen before. Piccolo estimated it at about five million. Worse, Frieza wasn't even at his full power yet! Piccolo knew he was being left in the dust fast.

But he needed to hold him off for just a second. Doing the flying headbutt, he charged. It would have hurt his head more than Frieza, but Piccolo halted at the last instant, grabbed Frieza's raised knee and tossed him into a cliff. Charging, Piccolo used Frieza's temporary instability to land another hard punch. Frieza blasted him backward, but Piccolo launched two beams of his own as he fell back, nicking Frieza with both.

Gohan and Vegita moved forward now. Piccolo knew they didn't have a chance, but his inner spirit was sensing something new. He tried to make peace with himself and concentrated. Right now, they needed Goku. Now was the time. As he looked up, Piccolo saw Frieza's power fly around him.

"You fools," he hissed. "I have reached 50% of my full power, and you stand no chance against me! The universe is mine!"

Piccolo sighed again, only slightly surprised how strong Frieza could become. When they said he was the master of the galaxy, they weren't kidding. Frieza's power had doubled to ten million. This was very bad. He needed to find Goku fast, before Vegita and Gohan fell. Piccolo sped off.


	6. Episode VI: Frieza Saga

He found Goku a short while later, his ki standing out in a desolate landscape. For some odd reason, it seemed to be slowly growing. The saiyan was curled up against himself, still sobbing, on the ground. Though Piccolo felt sorry for him, he concentrated on his goal. Piccolo bent down to Goku, who continued sobbing. Piccolo laid one hand on his shoulder.

"Goku, it's me, Piccolo. We need your help, Goku, but perhaps you could use mine first."

Nodding tearfully, Goku uncurled and looked at him sorrowfully.

"Everything's falling apart, Piccolo," he said softly, voice harsh from crying. "I just don't understand."

Piccolo put his hand on Goku's shoulder gently, conscious that he had to be careful because he was walking a fine line. Right now, he would help Goku most by just being a friend and giving him a shoulder to cry on. Goku took up his silent offer and sobbed some more. Piccolo had never seen such depth of emotion that was on Goku's face and in his eyes. It seemed to wash out from him, as if it had been pent up so long.

"Why does everyone leave me?" Goku asked. This time he really meant the question.

"Because you're a saiyan. Even because you exist. Maybe because the other saiyans kill a lot of the Ea-"

"No! People don't want to hate!" A last stand of his old self.

"Maybe, Goku, maybe. But I have seen many things, Goku. You know that the Kami of Earth knows much. I know far more then he does, perhaps even truth. I have seen hate, war and strife for no purpose. Only a constant conflagration of evil, in a useless attempt to destroy things that are evil. They don't understand that evil is what people become, not what they are."

"What do you mean?"

"Consider why we fight Frieza. Do we do it because he is a Changling? Do we do it because he was born on planet Ice? No. We do it because of what he has become, a money-grabbing planet monger. He wants to destroy everything that we know and love, all the people that we know and love. How many people is that for you, Goku?"

"Everyone," Goku whispered. "I still believe in them. What if there is a capacity for change? What then, Piccolo? What if Frieza could turn good and help us?"

"What does your heart tell you, Goku? What does your mind tell you? Consider both. If you use only your heart, you will always see the chance in everyone, even the most hideous being ever. If you listen to your mind alone, you will become a cold calculator who kills without thought. Become neither. Will Frieza honestly become good and change his ways? No, not ever. He was born kind, but that changes soon, doesn't it? He is now beyond your reach Goku, it is time to fight him.

"But listen to your heart sometimes as well. Consider the person's will in the matter. Did they want to do what they did? Remember that, it matters more than you can imagine. You must remember that. The person's will matters. Does Frieza want to rule the galaxy as a dictator? Does he want to become the Legendary One and kill everyone? By all means, yes to both questions. But for others.... Take this example: Would it make sense for someone to hate you because Captain Ginyu used your body to attack others? Not at all. Remember, Goku, I can personally promise that it will matter. "

Piccolo was about to go on, but by Goku's look, he saw that he didn't need to. Goku's eyes were closed, his forehead knotted up, tears fell from his eyes slowly. Without opening his eyes, he began to speak, saying the words he had tried not to acknowledge in his mind for years.

"I- I think I understand now. They never really liked me, I've only been fooling myself. Everything, it was all a lie I've been living in myself. Now I've come into the truth of the matter, and I understand."

"And-?" Piccolo asked.

"And I will save them anyway. I will fight that which has become evil all my life, at any personal cost to myself, for people who won't care anyway. Because while I understand, they do not, and maybe, just maybe, they'll understand by my sacrifice. There's a flood of evil, even greater than any one single enemy, and I have to try and stop it."

"Right," Piccolo smiled softly, watching Goku's closed eyes wrench up as he tossed away the last remnants of the lie he had been living, "Remember Goku, don't count them out yet. Your wife, your son. They may yet learn to see you for who you have become, not who you are. I wouldn't put money on it, but no one can see everything. You have a second chance now. Are you ready to start a new life?"

"Yes." Goku lifted his head and opened his eyes. His eyes had changed, they were slanted and narrowed, they gleamed with a light of understanding. Piccolo compared them to Kami's eyes, to Gohan's eyes, and liked what he saw. This was a final proof. Goku had gained the eyes of understanding, his eyes were a mirror image of Piccolo's. Goku was with him, now.

"Now let's take on Frieza."

Vegita felt another crushing blow to the head and finally fell. Friexa laughed at him, then powered up to 75% of his full power. Vegita couldn't even scratch him, and now he knew that a single blow from the changling would kill him. Suddenly he noticed two new powers land on the battlefield. Piccolo was back, and Kakkarrot with him! Vegita fell unconscious, wish they'd let him die like a warrior, not try to come and save the day.

Having been told about Frieza on the way there, Goku leaped into action immediately. Using a swift zanzoken to get behind Frieza, Goku grabbed him in a neck lock. Frieza wavered, began to grow transparent, then- Frieza whirled around, blowing Goku off. But the saiyan only fell back a short ways before getting up again, glowing slightly with what energy he had taken from Frieza.

"You idiot!" Frieza roared. "You've drained me back down to a third of my total power!"

Running forward, Frieza took another swipe at Goku. Goku leaped to the side and slammed Frieza down into the ground. The changling got back up again and they started launching flurries of blows at close quarters. Piccolo smiled and moved back to the main group, which was recovering.

"Will you stay?" Tien was asking Krillin.

"Sure. As long as Goku seems likely to win, I'll stay. After the battle, I want a good share of the spoils."

"Or better yet," Gohan added, "Goku might be almost dead, so then we can finish the job."

Piccolo shook his head at their talk, wishing he could be unbelieving. There'd been far too much of that for him to be at all surprised. He had said he wouldn't place money on them. Now he knew there was almost no hope. But then he shook himself. There were plenty of times when he had thought there was no hope but Goku had whipped some out of the situation. Humans and saiyans changed their emotions more then Nameks, maybe there was still a chance. He waited and watched the fight.

Frieza breathed heavily, watching Goku warily.

"Good job," he called out, not meaning a word of it. "You've kept me fighting a full ten minutes without losing. Too bad you will soon. I'll make your death slow for causing me so much pain."

Goku didn't reply, just gazed at him. Frieza found himself unnerved by that gaze, which was slanted and very unnatural looking for a human or a saiyan. And he was strong, with a power level of maybe six million. But Frieza knew he was stronger. Roaring, he launched all the energy he had been saving for just this occasion and powered back up to 50% of his full power. His muscle size increased slightly.

They engaged in more close-quarters combat, but Goku was now outclassed by four million and got blown to the ground. Frieza followed up, received a kick to the gut but sent Goku sailing again with a swipe.

"Well I guess that's the end of that." Frieza's mind had already forgotten the saiyan as he moved on the weaklings. He shouldn't have. A second later he was rammed from behind, a full two feet into the ground, as Goku came rushing back.

"Why do you try to fight?" Frieza asked. "You stand no chance!"

"Kio-ken times three!" the saiyan yelled out. Frieza gaped as his power level suddenly just tripled. He had heard of this technique before, but it was said to have many disadvantages. The third level was only supposed to increase someone of his power by 50%, not triple it! And he should have been almost exhausted by the effort, but he showed no signs of strain. Frieza sensed his ki and realized it was as if Goku had never even used the technique, other than the huge power increase. Goku must have perfected it somehow. Nervously, Frieza remembered something else about Kio-ken, didn't it also multiply speed?

Leaping into action, Goku delivered three damaging blows before Frieza could even block one. Frieza launched a beam at him, but Goku effortlessly dodged it. Frieza started launching his energy orbs in rapid machine gun style, but Goku easily dodged all of them. Frieza stopped, realizing that Goku hoped to run him out of energy. 

Launching a Crusher Ball, his second strongest attack, Frieza gaped as Goku batted it directly back at him. The blast had diffused a little, but it burst all over him, knocking him head over heels backward. Realizing it was time for his ultimate attack, Frieza moved backward and began charging a fully powered Death Ball. The purple orb sped toward Goku, and the saiyan didn't seem to move. He looked at it intensely, and the Death Ball began to slow on its course. Frantically trying to push it onward, Frieza was hit directly when Goku mentally hurled the ball toward him.

Frieza righted himself and prepared to launch another attack. This was something that was frowned upon by everyone he had talked to- the kienzan. It was a disk of energy so intense that it could sear through almost anything, even other warriors. Many viewed this as cheating in a battle. Frieza didn't care, anything to win.

Goku dodged, but Frieza just laughed. His kienzan were homing; they circled around and tracked Goku through the sky. Avoiding them again, Goku ran from them, but Frieza knew that he couldn't stay away from them forever, and then he would die on their cruel edges. But Goku had no intention of trying to dodge them forever. Trying to dodge back behind the changeling, Goku attempted to get the kienzan to strike Frieza instead. Frieza merely laughed.

"Do you really think I'd let my own disk hit me?" 

Barely avoiding the next dive, Goku gritted his teeth and sped away again. Then, in an instant, he seemed to vanish, his ki blinking out. The Kienzan seemed to be confused, but then Goku was there again, dodging behind Frieza. Again the changeling kept it from hitting him, but Goku instantly projected his ki out to the other side. Before Frieza could stop it, the Kienzan whipped around and tore through him.

Frieza gaped as he saw himself in two pieces. He angrily loosed all of his energy, powering up to 75% of his full power. No matter how much Goku had done to him, he'd destroy him now. The raw energy of his power blasted over the ground, reducing the battle-scared ground to smaller dust.

"You are determined," Frieza smirked at him as his body parts melded back together seamlessly again. "But I will show you the wall that no amount of determination can scale! I am the strongest warrior in the universe. I cannot be defeated by anything or anyone! I am the Legendary One, and if I'm not, I'll make myself the Legendary One by my own hand! Nothing can stop me!"

Piccolo watched as Goku started to lose against Frieza, with the changling at 75% of his full power. But Piccolo knew that Goku still one card left up his sleeve. And it wouldn't happen until he is out of cards, so he had to wait for him to use that last one.

He saw Goku finally admit that he just wasn't strong enough to defeat Frieza in his eyes. Goku moved back and began charging up. Frieza laughed at him.

"Do you really think that ordinary charging up will give you the strength you need to defeat me? Very well, try your best. I'll be waiting!"

Frieza was a bigger fool than Piccolo had first assumed. Goku was charging up a Spirit Bomb, and it was looking quite large inside him. But he needed energy from people, or it would never get strong enough to kill Frieza. Piccolo had to try as Goku's changed eyes looked pleadingly at the others in their group.

"Please, any of you," Goku gasped. "Grant me your energy! I need it!"

One by one, everyone shook their heads; Piccolo cursed their stupidity. How could they be so blind? Goku was their only hope in defeating Frieza, the only one even in the same league as the galactic conqueror. Frieza's first act after killing him would be to finish them off. Piccolo knew that he was toeing a very dangerous line, one misstep, and not only was the battle lost, but also the entire universe, because Frieza wasn't the worst that Darkness had in store for them...

"Hang on Goku," he called. "I'll try and get the Nameks to help!"

Piccolo began sending out a broad range telepathy to all Nameks on the planet. He needed to gather an incredible amount of ki in a very short time, and he was desperate. Frieza had still done nothing, but he was beginning to look bored. He might attack if something didn't happen soon.

__

Frieza must be stopped! Everyone, please grant Goku your energy so he can create a Spirit Bomb to destroy this menace!

Replies came flooding back almost instantly in the thousands, stunning Piccolo's mind.

__

Help Goku? A saiyan? Never in life! We'd sooner die! He may be worse then Frieza! We should-

Piccolo shut them out firmly. Gritting his teeth, he realized it wouldn't work. He also realized how naive even he had been. All this time he had assumed the horrible dark energy had only spread to humans. He had thought Nameks would be free from it's influences. In this way, he was as much of a fool as everyone else. There'd be no help from them.

With nowhere else to turn, Piccolo raised his own hands to the sky, forcing as much ki into Goku's Spirit Bomb as he could. He noticed Vegita standing there, conscious again. He was looking amused. This only enraged Piccolo into further levels of giving.

Goku realized that this was all the energy he was going to get, and that the Nameks weren't going to help. He launched it. The gigantic orb sped toward Frieza and could hardly help but hit him dead on, blasting him backward in an explosion. When the dust cleared, Freiza was there, barely alive and coughing and hacking. Suddenly the coughing and hacking turned to laughter as his energy flowed around him again.

"Feel my full power!" Frieza roared, sending energy bursting everywhere. Piccolo saw that his power level had reached an impossible 25 million! He was muscular to being overbuilt. After the Spirit Bomb, Piccolo knew that Goku was out of cards, but would this be their destroyer or their savior?

Goku saw everyone refuse to give energy to his Spirit Bomb and saw himself fail as Frieza reached 100% of his full power. His muscles bulged even larger, yet he still moved with incredible speed and agility. Even though Goku knew he was finished, he still had to try. Rushing forward, he kicked and attacked viciously. Frieza foolishly stood there and took the blows, but even his full power couldn't just take Goku's rage. The changeling was blasted back.

Angrily getting up, Frieza began to treat Goku like a rag doll. Goku fought back, but only succeeded in injuring the galaxy's strongest warrior. He fell backward into the dirt and couldn't get up.

"You are all fools," Frieza proclaimed, laughing evilly. "There is no way you could defeat me. And all your other efforts will fail as well!"

But he was talking to a two-man audience. Everyone had left; seeing that Goku was losing, everyone had found Bulma and the ship, now the ship was gone. Only Goku remained, fallen in the dust, and Piccolo, clenching his fists tight with anger at their cowardice. None of them cared in the slightest for Goku.

Frieza flew up into the air and threw a Kienzan straight downward, but it wasn't aimed at either of them. He blasted it from behind with more power, sending it flying deep into the ground. Concentrated for a few minutes, he waited till it was long gone then turned back to them.

"The planet core will explode, destroying itself in just one minute. Then you'll all die. Goodbye!"

Goku summoned energy from somewhere to get up slightly.

"Piccolo, get out of here! My ship is on the hill! Save yourself, it's too late for me!"

Dashing off, Piccolo ran to the hill. Seconds later, the ship rose out toward the night sky. He felt a strange calm steal over him. If this was how it had to be, so be it. Down below, Frieza laughed evilly as he spotted the ship. Unnoticed below, there was something sparking in Goku's eyes.

"Such a noble act. Not that it matters at all." Raising one hand, the changling launched a beam at the fleeing ship, one that would eradicate it entirely.

"Noooo!" Goku screamed, to the background of Frieza laughing at his helplessness. 

Suddenly energy flashed around everything, golden power flowing out everywhere, power blasting ground from its place and trees from their roots. It all spiraled violently around Goku, making his figure vanish in a brilliant white light. The power was felt across the universe.

Above, now away from Namek, Piccolo saw the golden light intensify. He smiled, as he had made one minor alteration to the outcome of things. One small battle in a long war, but his part was almost done for now. He had won all his battles but one, and that one was almost there. Then he could rest, knowing he had done the best he could. It was almost time to rest.

Vegita saw the incredible power and was amazed. Kakkarrot had beaten him again! All the power he had gained, even after recovering from the beating Frieza had given him, and it didn't even matter! Rushing off, he began to train wildly in the upper level of the ship.

The saiyans on Planet Vegita gawked, staring at the amount of power they felt in this one warrior. Bardock reeled, no amount of visions able to prepare him for this. 

Finding a power greater than any he had seen before, King Kai turned toward whatever it was. To his shock he recognized the young saiyan who had crossed his path before. Never had the Kai imagined that he would come to possess this much power.

High above the Afterlife, Shin, the Enforcer, shuddered slightly. This manner of power had not been seen for thousands of years. But now that someone had done it, the floodgate was open; power would begin exploding everywhere. Old enemies would become strong, defeated evils would be granted new energy. A new age of power was dawning.

In the Afterlife, King Vegita just stared in stunned silence. A few aides attempted to get his attention, but he did nothing, merely babbling to himself, thousands of thoughts running through his head.

Bardock smiled, seeing yet another triumph. His mind began to think of how he could go and meet his son, and how they would rule the galaxy together...

Down on Namek again, Goku was standing now. His hair stood up on end, golden and flowing. A aura of golden flames surrounded him, dancing menacingly. His eyes had turned green. They blazed hotly, still slanted and still burning with the truth. Goku was, undeniably, a Super Saiyan. Frieza's beam had long since been swept aside like a toy in the outpouring of power.

Frieza snickered at him.

"It doesn't matter, this planet has only thirty seconds to live. You can't breath in space and I can! The Nameks will all die too. They're trying to escape, but they won't make it."

"Thirty seconds is all I need," Goku said calmly; only his eyes raged. Racing forward, he showed Frieza why he couldn't make a claim to be the Legendary One. A single blow sent Frieza head over heels. More attacks pummeled him, weakening him to barely standing. Only five seconds had passed. Frieza gritted his teeth and ran forward, aiming a punch for Goku's face. The Super Saiyan caught it easily. Frieza punched more and more, using up all his energy in a mad attack, determined to break Goku's defenses. Goku blocked them all easily. He launched one last punch, one that ended the changeling's life.

There were only ten seconds left; Goku zoomed down the crack in the earth the Kienzan had taken. He needed to give the Nameks enough time to get off. Shrugging off lava as he neared the center, Goku searched for his goal. With only a few seconds to go, Goku found the planet core and wrapped himself around it. It was searingly hot. Energy beat at him with incredible force. Despite the pain, he held the explosion in the core for as long as he could. Every second would only make it worse, and Frieza had placed a lot of his power into the explosion as well.

Finally he sensed that all the Nameks were off. When he could hold the core no longer, he let go. It blew up spectacularly, throwing only explosion into space. Not an atom of the planet was left. Goku's sacrifice had given all the Nameks time to get off, so none died in the blast except him.

Or so everyone who watched the blast thought. Vegita and the others turned away, Vegita training wildly some more toward his goal. The Nameks stopped watching and started flying for Earth. Only Piccolo watched out of the back port of the space ship as he headed back to Earth.

Had he failed? Was it over? If Frieza had died, that was one victory, but would he lose the war? Suddenly he saw one thing, right at the center of the planet's previously occupied space. Something that looked like a star, except it had limbs and it glowed golden. Piccolo whooped, glad no one else was in his ship, Goku was alive! He had succeeded! Piccolo realized he was somehow surviving even in space! Now all Piccolo had to do was die, and then hope that Goku could live because of it.

Everyone was still in shock from how Frieza had been destroyed. Almost none of them knew who had really done it, and Bardock smirked at their ignorance. It was just unfortunate that Kakkarrot had to die in the blast. Well, despite being a weak kid he'd lived like a warrior and died like one. Now it was time for the saiyans to control the galaxy.

Slowly, the three ships from Earth limped away from the planet. All had received significant damage during the final blast, so the trip home was a long and tiring one. Piccolo and Vegita both trained, for entirely different reasons. The humans got on each other's nerves, cramped in the tiny space. Behind all of them, Goku flew on, ragged breaths gasping from his lungs as he somehow adapted to breathing in space.

One way or another, all returned to Earth.


	7. Episode VII: Frieza Saga

Gohan walked out of the ship stiffly. It was really cramped in there, with all seven of them inside. The fact that the trip had been far longer made things far worse. Looking back, Gohan was amazed that not one of them had died on Namek, not even Bulma or Yajirobe.

"So we all made it?" Krillin asked, apparently thinking similar thoughts.

"Not Goku," Bulma said airily.

"That's no loss of life," Tien muttered in an audible voice. Bulma threw down a capsule, created a capsule car and waved her goodbyes to everyone as she left. The rest of them all just stood around for a while, feeling great about themselves. Someone briefly tried to mention they failed to wish part of the population back, but was glared down swiftly. Just then Gohan saw a streak of gold in the corner of his eye. 

Turning quickly, Gohan saw his father, laying in the dirt, not moving. He looked very injured, and the golden glow was gone now. Smiling, Gohan knew this was his chance. Gathering energy, he moved back and fired a giant Masenko. Piccolo had taught him that technique, in fact, Piccolo had just arrived now. Almost everyone was here. Stepping from Goku's spacecraft, Piccolo saw Gohan attacking Goku and shook his head, smiling.

Krillin gaped. Goku still lay there, looking none the worse for Gohan's beam. He was unharmed. Just then the final person arrived who had survived Namek- Vegita. Dust whipped away as his pod dropped to Earth. Vegita stepped from his pod and faced them all.

"Hello, worthless human scum," he said, his voice full of malice.

"Hello, idiotic, murdering saiyan junk," Gohan returned. Everyone else shot a similar string insult. However, before it could escalate to real cursing, Vegita continued.

"Frieza is dead, and now I am the Legendary One."

"You are not!" Gohan yelled at him, offended for some bizarre reason he didn't understand.

"Oh, but I am! Kakkarrot removed all those stronger than me, and thus allowed me to become stronger myself. I've reached even another level of power. Stronger than he was. Now there is nothing to oppose me!"

As if to prove it, Vegita let out a yell that shook the sky. Power flew up around him in a whoosh, his hair turned gold and he was surrounded by a shield of golden flames. His eyes were a glittering, emotionless, killer green.

"I am the most powerful being in the galaxy, I am the Legendary Super Saiyan!" Vegita smiled evilly. He moved forward on them with lightning speed.

  
  


Goku watched helplessly as Vegita became a Super Saiyan as well. Somehow he had managed to obtain the same form, and gotten to another level of power. He was beating on everyone but Piccolo, who stayed out of it and delivered solid blows only when he had a clear shot. Gohan did a bit of damage once, but everyone could do little. Only Piccolo's shots ever knocked Vegita down.

Yajirobe, Yamcha and Chou-su were already gone. Goku cursed his weakness, he couldn't help them at all! Krillin used a Destructo Disk, Vegita dodged and launched his own back. Now Krillin was gone as well. Tien started launching Triangle Cannon after Triangle Cannon, it knocked Vegita back but he just kept coming.

When Tien lapsed for a single second from the strain, Vegita zoomed up to him and finished him off with an uppercut. Piccolo chose this time to kick him in the back of the head hard enough to make Vegita's face eat the dirt. He tried to whirl on Piccolo, but Gohan leaped on him just then. They started fighting, but soon Gohan fell as well. Vegita flung him over near Goku, Goku saw no life remained in his son. His anger began to build.

Piccolo was the only one left. He tried his best, but Vegita was only barely damaged after defeating all the rest of them. While Piccolo could do damage with every blow, but it just wasn't enough. Vegita's Super Saiyan power was just too strong for him. So this was how it would be. Before, he had always known it would be something like this, but now he was certain. If it was his time, it was simply time. Smiling, Piccolo dropped his guard and let Vegita's kick take him head on.

Hitting his head on the ground and plowing through it, Piccolo was stopped only by a tree.

"Vegita!" he called, "I have something to say. You are not the Legendary One. You're nowhere near that sort of power. If you were the Legendary One, I shouldn't have been able to hurt you at all. Face it, betrayer, you just aren't that good. The Legendary One isn't even in the galaxy now, and it certainly isn't you. All you have accomplished is becoming a Super Saiyan, not the most powerful being in the galaxy.

"Your fate is sealed, Vegita. All this has been nothing but the first round of a game. I have won, even though I must forfeit my life. Everything has come into play as I had hoped. While it could easily go wrong, there is no way you'll be here to see it!"

Growling, Vegita dove at him in a flying kick. Piccolo saw it coming and smiled, shaking his head and laughing at Vegita.

  
  


Goku saw the whole thing as if it was in slow motion. Summoning all his anger, his emotions that had been pent up, all his power, he got up and charged. His lungs ran ragged in the air; he was used to breathing in space, but he ran none-the-less.

Vegita turned to see him and smirked. His smirk turned to horror as Goku's hair turned golden as he became a Super Saiyan as well. After the first time, it was easy for Goku to become a Super Saiyan again, given a reason to be angry. This was a more than sufficient reason. Goku landed a single, well-placed kick, then attacked Vegita savagely. He lost all humanity in a vicious attack.

"Goku, stop!" A weak voice was all that kept him from going on. He stopped his frenzy and saw that Vegita had fallen to pieces, literally. There wasn't much left that could be considered alive. Goku stared at his bare hands a second, then collapsed, his anger gone.

A green form inched over to him. Piccolo got close enough to look Goku in the eye. For all this time, Goku hadn't really thought about the fact that everyone he knew hated him. First he had fought Frieza, then he had just tried to stay alive in space and get back to Earth. Now it all hit him dead on. He started crying again. Vegita would have mocked him for doing so, but now he was dead, wasn't he? Everyone hated him, no one liked him, he was-

"Goku," Piccolo was using all his strength to speak. "Remember this, remember me. I am always your friend, Goku, to death and beyond."

Piccolo shuddered, "Goodbye, my one and only true friend." A rare smile graced his green features, and Piccolo looked truly at peace. Sobbing, Goku somehow managed to get to one of the ships and fall into a rejuvenation chamber. He needed to honor Piccolo, and live instead of dying.

He had wanted to die, at first, there was nothing worth living for anymore. But now there was, the memory of Piccolo. Goku fell asleep, a slight smile on his face.

  
  


Opening his eyes, Goku felt himself all over. He was fine now, and completely healed. For a while he didn't even know why he was there, but then it all flooded back to him. Vegita's betrayal, Piccolo's death, his own horrible rage. How could he have done something like that?

Taking off his oxygen mask, Goku crawled out of the tank. Looking around, he didn't see any new set of clothes he could use. His old gi had gotten ripped in the Frieza fight, he needed something new. Looking around, Goku finally spied some saiyan armor in a case in the wall. By chance he must have picked Vegita's old ship. Goku moved over and almost stumbled. He still wasn't good on his feet after so long in space and then healing.

After waiting a while to stabilize himself, Goku walked over to the side of the wall and got the saiyan armor on, removing the tatters of his earlier clothing. It was a full complete set too; it must have been Vegita's. He had once commented that saiyan armor showed what rank the wearer was by how complete it was. This one was basically a full body suit. Looking himself over, Goku didn't like it as much as his gi, but it would have to do for now.

Getting out of the ship, Goku looked around. Things looked a lot like they had before, but most of the grass had grown back from where it had gotten destroyed in the fight. The bodies were still there. Wincing, Goku walked forward into the middle of the field. Floating up into the air slightly, Goku fired a blast at the ground. Holding out one finger in a concentrated beam, he cut a makeshift grave out of the ground.

Working slowly, he took each person one by one and placed them into the grave as well. Vegita he just blasted into smaller pieces. He didn't deserve the resting place the others received. After filling in the grave, Goku placed a stone on it and, on a suddenly whim, melted a message into it with a finger beam.

  
  


Here lie the following:

Gohan

Krillin

Tien

Yamcha

Chou-su

Yajirobe

They died while battling Vegita on March 27th

  
  


All my friends are gone now. They've all died. There is little more for me here, it's time to move on.

My life has little joy in it anymore, I don't know why I live. Maybe, a vague hope for the future.

-The Alone, Goku

  
  


Taking a look at his grave, Goku nodded and moved back. Only Piccolo was left, but Piccolo deserved something special. Piccolo had been the only person, he now realized, who had ever liked him at all. He realized that Piccolo was largely the reason everyone on the planet was alive.

Finding a large boulder, Goku carried it back nearby to the grave site and set it down. Moving back, he fired a large kienzan that took off the bottom part so it rested on a flat surface against the Earth. Gathering his ki, Goku made a door, which he set aside, then hollowed it out inside except for a table in the middle. Goku wasn't sure how tall Piccolo was, but he made the table seven feet just to be sure.

Going back outside, Goku picked up Piccolo. Surprisingly, he was only just beginning to stiffen, so Goku laid him on the table and folded his arms in his usual crossed position. For a moment he watched, and liked what he saw. In death, Piccolo looked much like he had in life, his arms crossed, that slight smile on his face. He looked like he was merely meditating in the low light in the boulder. 

Goku nodded and moved back outside the grave. Floating up above the door, he made another finger beam and wrote in simple letters: Piccolo. That was simple enough. It was something that Piccolo would have liked. It showed respect but wasn't extravagant. Now a final touch. Again using his finger beam, Goku wrote some more on the door to Piccolo's tomb.

  
  


The only real friend I ever had.

  
  


Taking the door he had carved out at first, Goku put it back over the door. He stepped back to admire his work a brief second, or perhaps to think about the past, then sped off in the other direction. The next thing Piccolo would want him to do would be to continue to live his life, not waste it thinking about the past.


	8. Recap A

Due to the broad nature of my fan-fiction, weekly readers could become lost amid the various events. There are a plethora of characters, many of which have changed from their former identities. Thus, this file is simply to recap what has happened and highlight those characters that will continue to play important roles.

  
  


What has gone on before...

All the Z-fighters travel to planet Namek to obtain the Earth Dragonballs in order to wish 10% of Earth's population back to life. Frieza and his forces arrive as well. It is discovered that perhaps the Z-fighters are not as pure in this dimension as they are in others. All of them uniformly hate Goku. Their methods are as brutal as the so called villains'. Through the conflict, most of Frieza's army is destroyed, and the Dragonballs are destroyed by the death of their maker, Guru. In the meantime, Chi-Chi throws Goku out of her home. Both Piccolo and Goku make their way to Namek.

In the final battle, most of the Z-fighters desert Goku. His transformation into Super Saiyan is triggered and Frieza is killed. Namek is also destroyed in the battle, but Goku survives the blast. After limping home to Earth, the Z-fighters discover that Vegita has used this time to make his own transformation to Super Saiyan. Though Goku manages to stop Vegita's rampage, he is too late to prevent the deaths of all the other Z-fighters.

  
  


Characters

Goku: having pushed aside the web of ignorance he used to keep reality away, Goku has been transformed into a new warrior. Seeing the betrayal and death of all his friends has left him bitter. He trains in space awaiting another threat to Earth.

  
  


Piccolo: though the Namek died the battle versus Vegita, Piccolo's influence on the battles cannot be denied. He has also tapped into a force known only as "truth." In the Afterlife, Piccolo continues to watch over events on the planet.


	9. Episode VIII: Between the Cracks

Piccolo watched Goku from high above, on King Ki's planet. Smiling slightly he turned away; Goku had learned his lessons well. He would do fine. But now Piccolo's job was done, at least for now, so he could do what he wanted to do- which happened to be training.

He had been training a lot already, in the fashion that he already had before. It hadn't been difficult to tap into a new level, his power level was just over what Frieza's had been at 50% of his full power. But he wanted to get higher then that, it was just the way he lived and worked. Which was why he was here. King Ki was the only person in the Afterlife who could really teach him anything, and he wanted to learn. And now, watching Goku, he thought of a joke. He was pretty sure it would work too, if he knew anything about King Ki.

"King Ki, here is my joke."

The portly ruler turned eagerly.

"That's good, you're always too somber. You need to lighten up."

A bunch of thoughts ran through Piccolo's mind, mainly thinking that he had a really stupid joke.

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?" King Ki was excited already.

"Banana."

"Banana who?"

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Banana."

"Banana who?"

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Banana."

"Banana who?"

"Knock knock."

"Who's there?"

"Orange."

"Orange who?"

"Orange you glad I didn't say banana?"

King Ki stood, a little stunned for a while. Piccolo rolled his eyes and waited a second. Suddenly the basic idea of the joke dawned on King Ki and he began rolling around laughing in the ground. Piccolo just waited patiently. After this he got to catch the stupid monkey and whack the stupid cricket with that hammer. Then he got to actually learn something.

  
  


Goku almost walked into the town itself, but then remembered the sheer hate they had for all saiyans. Instead he decided to circle around to his own house to see what was there. He was pretty hungry and he hadn't eaten in a long time. While he could go without food, that didn't mean he liked it.

While walking, Goku suddenly heard a voice call out over a megaphone "Surrender at once, saiyan!"

Looking around quickly, Goku saw the police car ahead, hovering a few feet above the ground. They were yelling at him. Goku shook his head at himself. He hadn't gotten far enough away from the city.

"Look, I am not here to hurt you," he called. "Can't a guy just walk into his own house?"

No, he thought to himself, not always. Not if they were a saiyan, or a Namek, or anything else. Anything that wasn't human didn't get the basic rights everyone else got. In fact, anything they didn't like didn't get any rights. Just a basic need to cause pain. He was the obvious scapegoat. But these people gave him their own answer, opening rounds of machine gun fire at his head. The bullets bounced off his face and sprayed in every odd direction. Sighing, Goku leaped forward as fast as he could.

The policemen were still firing rounds of fire when he got close to them. Grabbing their guns, he ripped them from their hands, then broke them over his knee effortlessly. After all that had happened on Namek, his strength had increased. While he could always destroy metal before, this felt like snapping wet noodles. Tossing them aside slowly, he looked at them a second silently, then spoke.

"I didn't want to hurt you and I still won't. Leave, please."

They listened this time, running off in the other direction. Goku sighed and walked on, reflecting that he needed to get out of this saiyan armor, it made him really obvious. He continued heading toward his house.

Reaching there, Goku found it temporarily deserted. The door was locked, but he ripped it off its hinges easily and walked inside. Looking around inside, Goku saw that everything was pretty much the same as it had been before. That was fortunate. He went to his room and got on one of his gis. Now he was wearing something more normal again.

He had cleared out the fridge by the time he noticed a few papers on the table. They were set like someone had just been working on them. Goku looked down and started reading them over. It didn't take long, even with his intelligence, to figure out that they were divorce papers. Chi-chi was out for good. Sitting at the table, he started looking over the claims. She basically got everything.

Finding a pen he wrote a small note beside the lines concerning the custody of Gohan. Due to recent circumstances involving the death of the subject, the matter is void. What was that? Looking back over the words, Goku couldn't even understand what he had written. It probably meant that Gohan was dead, so it was all right. What had possibly possessed him to do something like that? He pushed it from his mind easily. It hardly mattered.

A bit disturbed, Goku put the papers back where they had been. So his marriage was dissolved. What had he expected, really? Before he left, he needed to get up to date on what was happening here on Earth. Sitting down on the couch, he turned on the TV and hoped that Chi-chi didn't get home too soon.

To his surprise, there was footage of some sort of parade going on. Goku changed the channel, but then it was just a different angle of the same parade. Goku gritted his teeth and decided to find out what this was all about. It must be important, if multiple channels were covering it. Goku flipped to the next channel, saw the same thing, then flipped back.

Some man was at the head of the parade, riding in a car. He seemed to be the most important part of it, so Goku watched him. After the parade moved for a few blocks, it reached a grand stage that had been set up in the middle of an intersection. The man got out of the car and walked up the stairs amid wild cheers.

Goku watched, a bit bored, as they heaped honors on this guy, whoever he was. He wanted to hear what he had done, that was all that really mattered. Finally a few words strained out to reach his ears.

"... for bravely defending planet Namek from aliens trying to take over, much as they did here. They were led by Frieza, a mercenary who destroyed everything on planets and sold them to the highest bidder. Another example of alien treachery. Even though Hercule could have defeated him and left, he instead chose to risk his life to save that of thousands of people on the planet.

"But our brave hero has survived and is back, ready to protect Earth again. And we announce officially, that Nameks that accept our agreements are now legally considered human! This raises Earth's population back to 100% of its former. So let's party, cause all's well that ends well, right? Three cheers for Hercule!"

There were huge cheers all over the crowd, mostly coming from the Namekiian section. Goku gawked for a moment, then slowly smiled a sad smile. His eyes shimmered softly, though no one was there to notice. All the Nameks should have known that he was the one who had fought Frieza, Piccolo had contacted all of them. But people believe what they want to believe, and that little incident would be forgotten forever. Hercule would be the savior of Earth from now on, with Goku on the sidelines.

Purposefully blocking out the noise from the parade, Goku decided to start his training now. Concentrating his energy, Goku tried with all his might to do a move he had heard of once. It was called Instant Transmission. The idea was that you could instantly teleport to any location you wanted to. Before, he had never been able to pull it off, but now he tried again. His mind was still thinking about Hercule, and he suddenly found himself floating above the crowd a good distance. Before anyone could notice, he floated to a side building and sat down on it. Feeling for Hercule's ki, he got a surprise. His power level was only 25! Goku was not at all impressed. Chou-su could have taken him any day. Yajirobe could have too.

Sighing, Goku tried to get back to his house. Even using the same technique as before, he couldn't. Now he understood, however. He needed a ki to warp to, one specific person to latch onto for Instant Transmission to work. Hercule's ki he had felt before. It was strong enough for someone as experienced as he was to sense it. Goku decided not to go home at all, he had a gi again. Would it ever be home, now?

Launching himself up into the air, Goku flew up out of the atmosphere. For a second he coughed and he couldn't breath, but in a few seconds his lungs remembered how to breath space. Goku breathed deeply, but the breath hurt. He shook his head and continued breathing. In a few minutes, his breathing had returned to normal. It was only then that he even considered why he could breath space. There wasn't any good reason for it, it had just happened. Putting it from his mind and flying a good distance away from Earth, Goku began training.

There was sudden heat, lacerating through him, followed by an extreme icy cold. The temperature spun wildly out in space, but that was what made it perfect for training. Goku started training as hard as he could, not wanting to think about Hercule and his taking credit for everything.

  
  


For a few weeks, Bardock didn't have any more serious visions. He would occasionally find out something in the future that was basically useless or didn't mean anything to him. The visions seemed to be linked to things he saw; he had been thinking about his son when he had gotten the vision about his son. But nothing had any significance, until a few weeks had passed.

He was standing outside, looking over the city he was in at the time. He was in between assignments, and getting restless. Still having not told anyone about his visions, he was getting used to their effects. But he was afraid he'd fall at some time that was important. It seemed that this ability was also letting him see more of the present, on far away locations. He had felt it when Prince Vegita left to go to Earth and find the Dragonballs. And when he had come back, and somehow died.

Looking out over the city, something connected inside him and he collapsed again.

  
  


Glancing around quickly, Bardock saw he was in the same city, just in a different location. Everything looked normal, and he hoped that this vision would have something important in it. Little did he know how important it would be.

Suddenly there was a comet-like object that sped down and struck the city. It was small and caused little damage, but it was obvious, drawing his attention. Flying down to it, Bardock watched to see what would happen. The comet was revealed to be a spacecraft of some sort, not a kind he had seen before. The hatch opened and steam hissed out, obscuring his view for a while.

Two pairs of eyes gleamed brightly in the fog. They were slanted and filled with obviously malignant intent. When the fog faded away, there were two people standing there. The two glanced around, then the black-haired one raised a hand into the air. Energy gathered and Bardock gasped as he saw an entire building be destroyed in the blast. The two of them, androids- the word came into his head inexplicably, jumped forward, destroying everything in their path. 

Bardock was used to being cruel; he had to be to clean up planets the way he did, but this was something else entirely. They were evil, killing for the simple fun of it. Instead of taking down a building, they'd kill everyone inside one by one. Somehow disturbed, Bardock turned away and the world swam around him.

His vision shifted, now he was higher above the planet. He saw a huge wave of destruction flooding out. Time was moving at a speed beyond anything natural. In a minute, an entire day passed. From his perch above, Bardock saw the rapid destruction. Sooner than he thought possible, the planet was lifeless. Fast, for such a warrior planet. Suddenly the world swam for the last time, ending the vision.

Pulling himself to his feet by the rail, Bardock breathed heavily, blinking visions of destruction from his eyes. This was not good. Two warriors were going to come and destroy all the say-jins on the planet? They must have caught them off guard, the say-jins would never go down so easily. Unless, they were that strong-

No! Bardock wouldn't let himself believe that. But the planet would be ready for them, now, because of his gift. He needed to see the king.

  
  


Piccolo jumped through the city of the Afterlife, making his way toward the place he needed to go. King Kai's training had been useful, but not as beneficial as he had hoped. Well, he had always been one to train by himself anyway. Now, however, he was searching for a few people he wanted to talk to.

There was an explosion of ki beneath him, and Piccolo nodded. That had to be where it was. Landing on a nearby building, he looked down and saw more or less what he had expected.

"Now, it is time for a rematch," one changeling was yelling. "And this time you will pay!"

It took him a second to recognize him as Kooie, and instantly dismissed him as any sort of threat. When compared with the incredible power that was possessed by Frieza, he was nothing. He instantly recognized the one he was speaking with, as they had long been friends. Nail watched his opponent impassively.

Kooie charged, and Nail ducked under his punch, slamming an elbow into his chin. The changeling fell back, then charged, but Piccolo already knew how the battle would turn out. However strong the changeling had gotten, his Namekiian friend had obviously been training a lot since his death.

Being slammed backward, Kooie was unable to stop his flight before Nail hammered him again, then knocked him directly down. Knuckling him hard, Nail shot cracks running through his armor and Kooie gaped in pain. A second later a kick sent him flying off. He tried to attack with a giant blast, but it wasn't even close to hitting Nail, who dodged and fired his own in response. Only a bit of dust drifted from the explosion.

Dropping to the ground again, Nail nodded to him, barely breathing hard.

"Thanks for letting me do that."

"I knew you could," Piccolo smiled. "How are things going here?"

"Well enough." Nail gestured for him to follow, and they made their way to a Namekiian structure in the city, "of course- I am dead."

"Ah, aren't we all?"

"Come in, Guru would like to see you."

"I'd be glad to see the Elder again."

As they entered the dimly lit building, Piccolo glanced around. It wasn't long before he locked eyes with Guru, the aged Namek sitting in another throne. A halo hovered over his head, just as Nail's, and he looked in better health then he ever had in the normal life.

"Welcome, my son," Guru said softly. "What brings you here?"

"We have a few things to discuss regarding destiny, Guru," Piccolo said, gruffly but respectfully.

"There is nothing more. I have played my part on a cosmic scale, and now I am content to sit back here. I am at peace."

"I'm glad you've passed beyond the normal world, but I am still entrenched in it. The world's condition is worsening, and there is a great amount of variance yet to come into play before the end."

"Yes, I must admit I have worries there. Are there Dragonballs?"

"No," Nail shook his head. "With Piccolo dead, as well as you, I checked every known copy. There aren't any more, so I fear those who have died will remain dead."

"That's all right," Piccolo nodded. "I've put the truth in one other before I went."

"Who?" both of them asked at the same time.

"Goku, the one who killed Frieza. You needn't worry about him. I believe that he is the one who could help us avert the great darkness that is to come."

"You should know we can never avert it," Guru admonished him. "It is fate."

"But what we can do is insure some light survives, and when it does, the darkness will be rebirthed into something good once again."

Guru nodded slowly. "There is hope for that, yet. If the truth is strong enough. There will need to be more than one, but at least there is a chance."

"This Goku," Nail asked, "do you think he can do it?"

"The world is in good hands," Piccolo told him. "I wouldn't be worried. I suppose this task has left your hands and gone to my own now."

"It is a burden I am glad to be rid of." Guru sighed, but it was a content sigh. "I have felt very old, and this was the last thing that I needed to be in peace. Now I'll pass into legend and let you younger ones take charge and guide the fate of the galaxy."

"Goodbye, father."

Turning, Piccolo swept away, cape fluttering behind him. Guru nodded and smiled. He had no doubt that things would go well. Closing his eyes, he drifted into a blissful sleep.

"Nice to know you're keeping the galaxy under control," Nail said, "but I sense something greater than ever before coming to pass. Some part of me thinks this will not be another battle in the raging war of the balance between good and evil."

"You are correct." Piccolo smiled. "this is not just another battle. This is the End."

"Truly? This has finally come to pass, the event I have waited most of my life to see. I shall see you again, my friend."

"The same to you." Nodding one last time, Piccolo flew into the sky, vanishing to another part of the Afterlife once again. Behind him, Guru smiled deeply, finally a peace. Though younger, Nail smiled a gentle smile, gazing into the sky, then slowly turned and walked back to the house.


	10. Episode IX: Between the Cracks

A few years later, back on Earth, there was a sudden rip in the fabric of time. No human was around to notice, but the forest around it suddenly burst into noise. Out of it flew an odd-looking machine. It hovered an instant, then landed, engines burning the forest away beneath it. Landing gear emerged on the bottom as it landed. A dome was revealed over the top, closed with a hatch. This hatch hissed open with the sound of hydrolic gases, and a blue form jumped out. 

  
  


Somewhere, infinitely far away, the same rip in time closed. Here, there was one person to see it. She was there for the express purpose of watching, because the man in the machine had been her son. Shaking her head, she realized she was already using past tense to refer to him. He would be back. He had to be. Brushing lavender hair from her eyes, she looked at the empty space a while longer.

The machine had been given enough power to make two trips. As soon as he was done, he would be back. And then they could begin rebuilding their shattered world. Everything was set up perfectly. After this, everything would be all right.

For months her son had been stewing over Goku; he'd been unresponsive. Now, at last, he would get it behind him, and maybe let himself be her son again. With him he carried the virus. She smiled slightly when she thought of it. That was the true reason for his trip. At last everything would be even. Turning, she walked back inside to sit down.

A time machine had been her most difficult project yet, but she had done it. It had taken every ounce of her intelligence for almost two years, but she had done it. Her son had been a big help. He must have inherited some of her intelligence as well as his father's strength. Frowning, she brewed herself a cup of tea and sat at the table, feeling empty now that her dream was coming true.

It was only a matter of time, she told herself, nothing to do but sit and wait. Looking out the window, she realized it was getting darker. There hadn't been any clouds, had there? Going outside, she looked upward, squinting at the sun. In what appeared to be a solar eclipse, something black was covering the sun. Racking her mind for statistics, she realized that there was no solar eclipse on this date, nor in the month. Light dimmed, and then suddenly went out, in a way that was shocking.

There were no lights in the sky. It was an unbroken black. Shivering, she turned to go inside and realized the lights within had gone out as well.

"This is the end," a voice spoke suddenly, out of the silence and ghastly beyond expression.

"What?" She whirled, seeing no one, as if she could see anything in the growing darkness.

"Well, Bulma...," the voice snickered, seeming to come from all around.

"What do you want? Why is it dark?" she gasped, wondering how this thing even knew her name.

"You want light, do you?" It spoke, voice heavily sarcastic. "All right. It's called oblivion."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you are a lie."

Before she could say another word, a brilliant light shattered through everything, and then there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. 

  
  


The teenage boy landed on the ground, boots touching down lightly. He wore a blue jacket over a black gi, both showed the Capsule Corps insignia on them. Lavender hair was neatly parted to either side of his face. A sheath rested on his back, worn but serviceable. As of then, his face was deathly serious. Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a worn picture frame and glanced at it, his mother smiled at him from within. His gaze grew sadder and he remembered.

"Be careful, Trunks!"

"Aw, mom!" He'd been younger then and hated her influence. She ruffled his hair and he was off.

Running through the fields he glanced back once, seeing his mother waving to him. He smiled and ran on.

  
  


Those had been the good times. He remembered all too well how the rift between them had grown beyond any healing. The memory brought a sour frown to his face, and he put the picture away quickly. Unnoticed within his jacket, the picture faded, leaving only a white frame behind.

Looking around him, Trunks found his view completely obscured by trees. For a moment he gazed at them. There hadn't been any of them by the time he was born, as they had all been destroyed.

"No!"

"Trunks, get away!"

Biting back tears, he struggled to get past Bulma's restraining arm. Gohan flew toward the androids, who laughed and attacked. Every blow that came Gohan's way seemed to hit him as well, and the boy quickly fell to the ground, having no need for Bulma's arm. 

The others had fought, but he had noticed nothing. Vague memories of being flown away remained with him, but most of it was an empty void.

  
  


Trunk's features turned dark, becoming moody as he angrily forced himself to not char the trees. Calming himself, he collected his thoughts and remembered why he was here. Now that he was in the past, things could be changed. There was hope. He smirked slightly. 

"Where are you, Goku?" he asked to the air, pulling out a sword and searching the area around him. "Where could you be? Come to Trunks now."

After some time passed and he felt nothing, Trunks put his sword back in its sheath. 

"Fine. If you want to hide low, I'll make you come to me."

Pulling out a small communicator, Trunks turned it on with a flick of the finger and spoke into it.

"Both of you, begin Phase 2 of the plan."

"You aren't our master," a voice shot back. "We are allies. We will begin Phase 2 because we want to, not because you can command us."

"Whatever," the teenager replied, brushing a strand of lavender hair from his face. Turning the communicator off, he scanned around for a city. When he found one, he flew to it. The first sight that met his eyes was a group of teenagers, hanging out by a street corner. Trunk's eyes narrowed as he watched them.

  
  


Shouts rang in his ears as he raced down the street, away from the voices. Stumbling, he barely escaped into the house, where his mother jumped up in alarm. They followed him to the door, throwing whatever was in reach and yelling more words that bit to the core. His mother's surrounding arms did nothing to stop the cold inside him.

"Half-breed!"

"Alien!"

"Why don't you go back where you belong?"

The words burned into his memory.

  
  


Shaking himself into the present, Trunks shook his head and reminded himself why he was here. He needed to stay focused. Raising a hand, he gathered as much ki as he could above him. People down below began gasping as more and more ki built up in a brilliant ball over Trunks' head. When he smirked, it was a smirk that the galaxy had seen before.

"Idiotic humans!" he yelled. "You'll suffer my wrath for everything! Everything you have done will be repaid now!"

Hurling the gigantic ki ball downward, Trunks grinning savagely as he saw it grow bigger and bigger before it hit and crashed in the city. Energy washed out from it in a flood, sending buildings crashing out from the point of impact. When it had stopped, Trunks saw nothing left but ruins. After blasting a few larger objects to dust, he turned and headed for the next city, a smile on his face.

  
  


Goku suddenly stopped training. Something was happening on Earth, vast numbers of individual kis were being wiped out by the millions. Attempting to use Instant Transmission, Goku found he had nothing to latch onto. There were always more conventional methods. He turned and started flying to where he felt the disturbances. It was going to take him a few days to get there, but he could hurry when he needed to.

He had been training the entire time, he hoped that he was ready for whatever it was that was killing so many people. Again and again he had powered up to Super Saiyan, trying different things, until now it took no effort to become one. A few times he had tried to power up beyond Super Saiyan, to an even higher level of power, but he had failed. That was all right though. He would do his best, that was all he could do.

  
  


A few days later, Goku floated just above planet Earth. He quickly deduced three different paths of destruction, all more or less in a straight line. All going directly toward one point. Using all of his speed, he moved there and landed on top of the center building of the city where the three paths would collide. Goku concentrated, trying to lower his ki as low as he could. He got it down to about where Frieza had been at his max, that would seem realistic.

Just after he was finished, Goku felt three kis coming his way. He stood up and waited patiently for them to arrive. After a few minutes, he saw who it was. The first made his eyes widen in shock- it was Frieza! He was covered in metal. It appeared not all of him was organic. His legs were artificial, as was one eye. A few bolts and screws stuck out of him occasionally. It took him little time to realize Frieza had survived and been rebuilt! The next looked a lot like Frieza had in a previous form. It was obviously another changeling, this one much larger with two spiked horns protruding from his head. The last one he didn't know, a teenager with lavender hair that was combed to either side of his face. A large sword hung across his back. He was wearing Capsule Corps stuff, though, he had to be from Earth. All three of them moved in front of him. 

"Who are you?" Goku said shakily, still surprised that Frieza had survived.

"You know me," Frieza laughed. "I am back and even stronger then before!"

"How'd you survive?" The changeling had been arrogant in the past, maybe he'd just reveal it now.

"That would be me," the other changeling grated out. "I'm his father, King Cold. I have trained and became even stronger than my son is! I rebuilt him after you foolishly attempted to kill him."

"Do you know who I am?" the youth said softly but intensely, "Do you know me?"

"Not at all,"

"Well, know that my name is Trunks. Before you die, I'll tell you who I am."

All three leaped at him at the same time. Goku dodged Trunk's sword swipe, then did a swirling kick that sent all three of them flying. Again they clashed with him. He grabbed King Cold's hands and hurled him away briefly. Frieza got off a hit that barely hurt, and Goku ignored it, avoiding the much stronger blows coming from the young boy. Breaking away from the combat, he flew upward, catching King Cold in the shoulder. Trunks went in for a close up attack, and Goku moved backward, avoiding every one of the blows. Both Frieza and King Cold fired blasts from above, and he was hard pressed to avoid every one of them.

Gathering energy, Goku unleashed it all as swiftly as possible, deflecting Trunks and all the bursts in the next wave coming for him. A rain of energy blasts pelted his three opponents, and Goku leaped back to catch his breath. Eventually the hail of ki stopped, but all three of them were left vulnerable to the slicing energy he sent at them. They all came back, but Goku elbowed King Cold off the building and kicked Frieza after him. They hadn't been lying when they said they were stronger, but neither could compare with the amount of power he had now. He fired a ki blast after them, sending them further down, and barely ducked the next swipe Trunks sent his way.

Leaping forward, Goku tried to kick Trunks in the jaw. The young boy blocked with his sword, but it was sent skidding to the side of the roof. They started fighting up close now, Goku only blocking, never attacking. He was pretty sure that he could win if he kept them separated and wasn't triple-teamed too often, but there were a few things that he had to know.

"So who are you? If you're human, you're pretty strong."

"Human?" Trunks snorted. Goku backed away from another punch and blocked the next. "I'm not nearly so pathetic. I'm only half human."

Smiling a bit sadly, Goku clashed with Trunks again, "My son was half-human too. He denounced his saiyan side and acted human. What about you?"

"I am not so weak as Gohan," Trunks growled, launching another flurry of blows, which Goku turned aside, wondering how he knew Gohan. "I have embraced the stronger side of my life, my saiyan side!"

"In doing so you've succumbed to the biggest problem with most humans. But that leaves the obvious question: who was your father?"

"Vegita! I am proud to say it."

Goku was so shocked he left himself open. Trunks' right hook knocked him backward. For a moment, Goku's anger at the name flared up so much he hit Trunks into the building itself and leapt to him, pounding him repeatedly, but soon he calmed down and continued his style of blocking. Trunks got up again, looking much worse for his troubles but still very confident.

"So who was your mother?"

"You should know! You tried to kill her!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about!"

"I don't know what sort of sick game you're playing, but I'll play along a second. Bulma!"

Goku gasped again. This time when Trunks tried a right hook. Goku snapped out of it in time to grab his arm and slam him to the ground. Trunks bounded up again, still not looking worried and very confident. 

"How'd that happen?" he asked, blocking another strike.

"Sometime on Namek," Trunks spat at him, kicking hard at the same time. "I'm not sure when."

Goku blocked the kick with his knee, catching Trunks' foot, and then jumped slightly, throwing Trunks off balance. As he rotated in the air to get in better position, Goku hit him to the other side of the roof, where Trunks managed to flip and land on his feet.

"So why are you here, killing people and trying to kill me?"

"You killed my father!"

Goku gritted his teeth and rushed forward, grabbing Trunks by the shoulders and slamming him to the ground, holding him there. "Are you crazy? Your father was killing everyone! He was insane!"

Trunks managed to buck him off. Goku blocked the follow-up punch.

"He was my father, and you killed him. That is all that matters. I have come back in time to kill you."

"So you're here just to get your revenge on me?"

"And to wreck my revenge on the human race. In the future, they outcast my mother and anyone who disagreed with them. Bulma has created a disease that should wipe out a lot of them. It won't affect you, but-" Trunks laughed evilly while striking, "that doesn't really matter. Soon you'll realize you caught a disease in space that will eventually kill you in my timeline, putting you beyond my reach. By going back in time, I can still get a chance to destroy you!

"In my time," Trunks went on, launching another punch, "two androids have eradicated nearly everything. They are incredible monsters, fit only to be destroyed. If you last long enough to meet them, I assure you won't like it. That would be delightfully ironic: the killers killing the greatest killer!"

"What a wonderful scene." Both saiyans turned and saw Frieza and King Kold standing there.

"That was beautiful, but I have to bring this reunion to an end," King Kold smirked. "We're ready to go!"

In an instant, both changlings stepped into action. King Kold grabbed Trunks' sword and tossed it to him, Frieza launched a kienzan at Goku. To Frieza's great surprise, Goku caught it in one hand, then hurled it vertically at him. It sliced through Frieza, leaving a giant gaping hole up and down him.

"Help me!" Frieza gasped, clutching his sides. There was a suddenly explosion of gold. Goku looked over and saw Trunks standing as a Super Saiyan. Trunks whipped his sword up and charged, completely severing Frieza's torso. Before the changeling even fell, Trunks launched a one-handed blast that vaporized him, then turned back.

"What is this?" King Kold demanded, stepping up to Trunks. "We had an agreement to kill Goku!"

Trunks sneered at him, then jumped into the air. King Kold looked up in time to see Trunks come down, sword blazing with blue flames and slice him entirely in half. His two parts fell to the ground, and the blue flames spread over him and consumed him. Trunks turned back to Goku, smirking. 

He launched another onslaught, greater than every before, and Goku avoided the blows mechanically, digesting what he had seen. Though Trunks was a lot stronger, his technique was still sloppy enough for Goku to keep up. Eventually they parted and landed on opposite sides of the roof. Goku noticed how Trunks was using his full power in everything, and it was consuming power at an incredibly fast rate- it'd be a fatal mistake.

"You have truly become evil, you are a monster," Goku said fairly calmly. It was what had to be said.

"Like my father became a Super Saiyan, I also became the Legendary Super Saiyan when he died. And when you are dead as well, I will be the Legendary One!"

"How come everyone knows all this stuff about the Legendary One and I don't?" Goku muttered, carefully watching as Trunks' muscles tightened in preparation. As Trunks dived forward, sword first, Goku quickly dodged. Hurling the sword at him, Trunks used the time he was distracted with dodging to charge up and leap into the air.

"Burning Attack!" He roared, hurling ki toward him. Goku nearly avoided the blast, then deflected it slightly, making the brunt of it blaze off into space. The attack was large and had a lot of energy, but surprisingly little power. Trunks already had his sword in hand again, and Goku tried to attack a few times as he dodged.

"I'm taking your sword." Goku zipped into Trunks' defenses, and elbowed the sword from his hands. Flipping over his next punch, Goku landed and caught the sword before it hit the ground.

"A weapon doesn't make a man," Trunks smirked at him. "You cannot beat me!"

"True," Goku agreed, edging to the other side of the roof. "A weapon doesn't make a man- a heart does. And if you've inherited your father's heart you aren't much of a man."

Trunks roared with anger. "Take your best shot! I can dodge anything you throw at me, your power level is nothing compared to mine as the Legendary Super Saiyan!"

"Well, I don't really know how to use this thing." Goku raised the sword, looking along its length, "but-"

Flying forward faster than Trunks could register, Goku saw Trunks' eyes open in horror as Goku became a Super Saiyan as well. Goku quickly delivered three deadly strikes to his chest, one diagonal, one horizontal and a final vertical. For a single instant, Trunks seemed connected and unharmed, but then he fell apart, shattering into pieces. Goku checked that he was completely dead, and then vaporized him anyway. Goku flew up to another building where he could take cover from any watching eyes.

Soon enough, he saw something that made him groan and roll his eyes. Hercule climbed from a hatch out onto the top of the building. He raised his hands victoriously and started breathing heavily. It wasn't long before helicopters started flying around, showing Hercule standing victorious among the remains of Frieza, King Kold and Trunks. Goku shook his head and flew out of the city. Even if he had no power, Hercule had an incredible sense of timing.

  
  


A few days later, he watched the next parade for Earth's hero to see what all had happened. He did learn that all three of them had killed almost a quarter of the Earth's population. Using his ki as a third hand, Goku floated a newspaper up to him, there was a small article about a strange disease appearing in various places around Earth. It killed thousands of people instantly and moved on easily. Scientists were baffled as to its origin.

Goku shook his head. He knew where it came from. It appeared that Trunks' killer virus was taking its toll already. Thinking about it, Goku sighed deeply; what was he going to do? This wasn't a solid enemy he could fight, there wasn't anything he could do. He dropped the newspaper and flew away. And what had Trunks said about the Goku in his time getting a disease and dying? He hoped it wasn't true, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

Landing in another secluded area, Goku began to train as hard as he could. He couldn't fight a disease, but there might be an enemy in the future whom he could fight, and he wanted to be in perfect shape for when that happened.

  
  


-

  
  


Those of you who review, could you do me a favor and tell your friends about this story? Rest assured that I'm capable of updating every week for some time; I want to get more people in on this. Would you be so kind?


	11. Episode X: Between the Cracks

There could be some strange formatting. I apologize.

-

Piccolo was almost done flying through the nondescript air that separated planets and areas in the Afterlife. He had trained himself for quite  
some time. Now he wanted to go to the HFIL and see if there were any new training options for him there. Just then he saw a new arrival. It was  
Vegita's boy, Trunks. Piccolo smiled; so Goku had finished him off too. This was rather amusing, from the looks of Trunks' face.

Krillin saw Trunks as well and came over to him. Thinking over his options, Piccolo decided to go for direct shock value and tell the complete  
truth from the beginning. This was a situation where that would be more surprising than any lie. He shook his head at the absurdity.

"Did you kill him?" Krillin asked. He shut up as Trunks glared at him.

"He was too strong. I have underestimated him extremely. But he doesn't know enough about the androids. They'll be coming in just two years.  
Then he'll die."

Piccolo sauntered over beside the small group collecting around Trunks and smiled mischievously down at them.

"By the way, Trunks, your timeline never existed."

"What?" In the youth's eyes there was a spark of horror, something greater than should have been there.

"All you are is a figment of the anger and hate Vegita has. He's been here the entire time, dreaming of a way to kill Goku. The real Trunks isn't  
born yet and is on Earth. The second you died, your time machine disappeared. Go ahead, ask King Yemma about your timeline. He can't find it,  
because it never even existed."

"That's not possible!" However, Trunks was on his knees now. Piccolo left, cape fluttering behind him. Everything he had said was true, but he  
had really wanted to be the one to tell him, not just let King Yemma tell him in a monotone. As Trunks realized this, his eyes glazed a solid white.  
Momentarily, a darkness seemed to appear around him, his power level started seeping away to only what Vegita's anger was, about fifteen  
million. Not nearly as troubling. Running again, leaving the devastated Trunks behind, Piccolo got down into the lower part of the Afterlife. It  
was amazing how the truth had made Goku stronger, and it had also made Trunks weaker.

"Yahhh!" Something came shooting in from the side and Piccolo only just ducked it. He turned to see Vegita standing there, glaring at him.

"Hello, Vegita!" Piccolo said amiably. "How are you doing?"

Roaring, Vegita charged at him again. Piccolo grabbed his hand and swung him into the ground several times, making Vegita shaped imprints in  
the rock. Vegita got up again and grinned evilly again.

"I'll kill you again, Namek!"

"You can't do that," Piccolo said, leaning against a wall. "I'm already dead."

"Do you know what happens to people who are killed in the Afterlife?" Vegita's smile grew even wider, "They simply cease to exist. They are  
beyond all recovery."

"Oh, I know that," Piccolo said flippantly, examining his nails. "Why should I care?"

"Because I'll kill you!" Vegita roared, going Super Saiyan. He charged, ramming Piccolo in the gut. The Namek was pushed back a few feet, no  
serious harm done. He just smiled down at the saiyan, then grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and hurled him through the ceiling into the  
next cave. Piccolo followed through with an uppercut.

"Big Bang Attack!"

Launching all his energy, Vegita sent out the sparkling orb of light at Piccolo. The Namek smiled and grabbed it as it came. The orb shrank,  
dimmed, and then went out as Piccolo absorbed the energy from it.

"That's not possible!" Vegita gasped in shock.

"It is," Piccolo disagreed. "It takes a lot of skill and concentration. These androids Trunks is talking about can do it without even thinking  
about it. I got the idea from his mind. I have to wonder if the real androids that Goku will fight have the same ability."

"How are you so strong?" Vegita attacked him again, Piccolo dodged his wild swipes and punched him into the wall.

"I've been training since I got here," Piccolo told him. "You haven't done anything. I'm as strong as Goku was when he first became a Super  
Saiyan. And just between you and me, even his first time was at least three times better then when you became a Super Saiyan."

"You're saying he's better then me?" Vegita stopped fighting a second and stared at him as if he couldn't believe what Piccolo had said.

"By far," Piccolo smiled, "and so am I." 

Flying forward, Piccolo rammed him with a knee to the chest. Vegita lost the air in him and fell from the sky, hitting his head and knocking him  
out. Piccolo smiled at him and shook his head. Vegita didn't realize that a true Super Saiyan needed to train a lot more than he did. Even a Super  
Saiyan transformation couldn't beat someone who was as determined as he was if you slacked off.

Creating a hole in the ceiling and floating through it, Piccolo let for other parts of the Afterlife. He hadn't killed Vegita, but the saiyan would be  
needed later. Piccolo shook his head again. Here he was, playing his dangerous game again. But that was okay, he enjoyed it.

Humming softly to herself, Bulma washed another of the dishes and placed it on the drying rack. After all the chaos involving those fighters  
destroying the planet, things had finally quieted down. Just as a precaution, she had moved to a different, more protected, location. A place  
where she and her son could be safe. It was kind of odd, in a way; she, who had no power, was the last of the survivors.

Bulma reached for another dish and began washing it.

"Hello, Bulma."

The dish dropped and shattered on the floor. That voice, it couldn't be. Turning fearfully, Bulma saw the shadowy figure standing in her  
doorway. For a moment it seemed that it was impossible, but as the figure moved into the light, she realized it was.

Ducking through the low doorway, Goku glanced at Bulma sadly.

"What are you doing here?" she managed to gasp out. He said nothing.

"How did you find me?" she continued, desperate to fill the disturbing silence. Goku smiled, though it was nothing compared to the joyful smile  
he had always had in the past. She hated this smile worse than the one before.

"I have my ways. How have you been doing? Alive, I see."

"It isn't any of your business," Bulma fumed, having gotten over her momentary fear. "Now get out of my house. I hate you!"

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," Goku said, turning away slightly. Though his voice was soft, Bulma found that she couldn't bring herself  
to interrupt him. "Of course, I knew you hated me. But unlike the others, I hadn't experienced it for myself. I guess that just shows how naive I  
really am. I had hoped you weren't like the everyone else."

"I said get out!"

In the past, when Bulma got angry, none defied her. Now, however, it seemed so different to Goku. Instead of someone intimidating, he found  
she reminded him more of a pouting child. Completing his turn and gazing at the wall, Goku's gaze fell upon a picture. It was all of them, Master  
Roshi, Krillin, Yamcha and the rest of the Z Fighters. He remembered that day, so long ago. They had spent a long time trying to convince  
Piccolo to join in, and he eventually had, standing at one side with his arms crossed.

"You were one of the first people I ever met," Goku said, completely ignoring what she had said, "and the first that I really remember well. Can  
you remember way back then? When we were all looking for the Dragonballs, so you could wish for the perfect boyfriend?" Goku chuckled.  
"How different things were then. I remember the 'evil' villains I fought then. Emperor Pilaf, the Red Ribbon Army's goons."

He sensed a vase being thrown at him and inclined his head just slightly. It careened past him, striking the picture and shattering. Normally,  
Goku would have thought little else of it. Bulma was inclined to throw things, but this time the effect was astonishing. Either by chance or  
something more dire, the vase had struck the picture, shattering the glass. Now the picture appeared to be broken by several large cracks. How  
fitting.

"Let's not throw anything else," he said, turning back to Bulma. "I'm trying to be civil about this."

"You..." Bulma hissed. Goku ignored the hatred.

"Yeah, I know you hate me. You'll have to deal with me a while longer. Please, do a bit of remembering, back when things were so much better.  
Our first meeting with Master Roshi, all the adventures we got into."

"I hate to burst your bubble," Bulma smirked nastily, "but things never were 'so much better.' I allowed you to join me because I could use your  
abilities. From the very beginning you were nothing but a tool."

"I know," Goku glanced at her sadly. "I knew from the beginning. Amazing what a person can refuse to see. You seem to actually be proud of  
doing that."

"Yeah, tricking you so many years!"

"Ah yes, you always were so good at manipulating those less intelligent than you," Goku said. "It makes you feel better doesn't it?" Something  
about his words pierced Bulma, and she found herself dealing with, of all things, a bit of shame.

"Stop it!" A third party had entered. Nearly toddling in, a small boy rushed toward Goku. It must be Trunks. Goku hadn't considered that the  
boy would already be born. As the boy got closer, evidently attempted to attack him, Goku easily wrapped a bit of ki around him, floating him  
into the air where his legs spun uselessly.

"You got involved with Vegita, didn't you?" Goku asked. Bulma gasped.

"How... how could you possibly have known?"

"Again, I have my ways."

"Why are you here?"

"I don't know," Goku said simply. "Nostalgia, perhaps. I suppose I was really here to see if all this hate hadn't spread to you. But I guess I  
already know that, don't I?"

"Yes, you do," Bulma was fully angry again. "And I want you to get out of my house! Right now! Do you understand me? If I ever see you  
anywhere around here, or you do anything to my boy, I'll-"

"May I keep the picture?" Goku asked, unfazed by Bulma's onslaught. She blinked, her attack averted.

"Just get out."

Unhooking the picture from its frame, Goku tucked it under his arm and walked from the door, slowly vanishing into shadow. As soon as he  
exited the house, he jumped into the sky and began flying. He didn't put up an aura, so the biting wind stung his face. Maybe that was the  
reason that tears were leaking from his eyes.

A good deal of Earth by that point was uninhabited, after both the saiyans, then Trunks' Alliance. Even before, its population was mostly  
thickly concentrated in cities, not spread out across the globe. One didn't have to go very far to find a place entirely vacant.

One such place was a small forest on the outskirts of a destroyed city. At this time, however, it was occupied. Occupied by one individual and  
his thoughts. What might have been a lane for walking some time ago cut through the forest, and down it the figure walked. His form was  
slightly slumped, as if weighed down by far more than any one person should ever have to face.

Goku ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. Dead leaves fluttered around him, making a rustling sound as he walked through them.  
The trees had long since ceased being colorful; now they were merely a dull brown. His orange gi stuck out far more than anything else in the  
grove of trees. That was alright. It fit his mood at the moment.

It was finally getting to him. The slow endless cycle of his life, with nothing gained. Before, he had always had so many friends, so many  
others. Now, he was alone. All of his friends were dead, but he wouldn't want them back even if the Dragonaballs were still around. That hurt  
worse than their deaths. Of course, a few were still alive, but it hardly mattered. None of them wanted him, even less than the average human.

Loneliness wasn't really a problem for him. He could have stood being a hermit for years. But there was something different about this.  
Somehow, knowing that everyone on the planet hated you made something horribly different. That was it, he decided. Had he been a recluse by  
choice, it would have been fine. After all, he had no real need for anyone else. Still, when he didn't even have that option, it wore down on him.

More leaves fell around him, and Goku glanced at them for a while. In a way, he bitterly realized, they seemed so much like his life. Dead, moving  
purposelessly through a meaningless existence. Crushing a leaf beneath his foot, Goku glanced down at it. The broken fractions of it quivered  
for a while, then were slowly blown away in the wind. How fragile. Just like life. Everything could go from so good to so bad in such little time. It  
took so little to end life, and so much to create. Part of him wondered how the universe could even exist under such conditions.

He didn't notice it, but his eyes glowed softly. Annoyed by the thoughts the leaves provoked, Goku redirected the wind so the leaves didn't  
come near him. At the moment, he just didn't want to see them. Instead, he found his thoughts turning to the future.

Emptiness was the word that came to mind. There was simply nothing in his future. Of course, it seemed certain that he would have to protect  
the Earth again. Some villain with insane amounts of power would come and try to destroy the planet, for some unknown reason. Maybe Frieza  
had a big brother who would want revenge or something of the sort.

Trunks had mentioned something about androids. Hmm, that could mean either entirely mechanical beings, or beings created partially from  
humans. Who would do something like that? At the moment he couldn't think of anyone. If Trunks spoke the truth, however, there would soon  
be androids coming.

If there was a way he could destroy them before they were created, that would solve his problem before it began. Goku dismissed the idea  
almost instantly. It was implausible, as he had no idea who created the androids, much less where they were. In that case, he'd merely have to  
wait. But he could do that. He had all the time in the world.

King Vegita sighed and looked out on the world from his vantage point in the Afterlife. Things had been getting interesting down on Earth,  
especially after Frieza had been killed. Back on Vegita, some other foolish King took over while he was up here. Vegita had killed him, ungrateful  
boy.

He hissed, letting air run through his teeth. Vegita had somehow become a Super Saiyan, and his power had awed all the saiyans in the Afterlife  
with him. But it was nothing to some sort of power and he had been killed. King Vegita hadn't seen him yet, but he wanted to give him a piece of  
his mind, now that both of them were dead. There was also a nagging feeling in the back of his head that he knew who had killed him.

Just then he felt a ki he knew all too well. Frieza was nearby. Flying up, he quickly made his way to where he felt the ki. Frieza and his father,  
King Cold, stood by a lake, both arguing about something. As soon as they saw him come into hearing, they stopped and looked at him.

"How did you die?" King Vegita asked Frieza, landing before them. Frieza glared at him. It was obviously a touchy subject.

"Goku attacked me, and then that traitor Trunks finished me off."

"Kakkarrot?" He was surprised, and for a second he couldn't control his shock. King Cold just looked at him, slightly confused, but a crafty  
look spread over Frieza's face.

"You know him?"

Turning away, King Vegita refused to speak, trying to keep away the questions.

"There's something you know that others don't, isn't there?" Frieza pried further, smirking at him.

"I know little, I merely heard of him."

"Sure."

"No, he was such a weak warrior, I had not thought he could defeat a fighter of your caliber."

"I've been meaning to ask you." Frieza's look turned ugly. "Do you remember so long ago when we met on your planet? What were you doing  
there? I'd never seen you there before, and I still don't see any reason for you to have been there."

Freezing, King Vegita remained silent, refusing to say anything. Frieza sensed an instant of panic behind his masked expression, and instantly  
pounced on it.

"Would you feel more inclined to tell on the pain of death, perhaps?"

Just then a green blur knocked both of them backward, and Piccolo stood there smirking at both of them. Frieza turned to fight him, but was  
surprised how much stronger the Namek seemed. King Vegita didn't even bother to fight, seeing Frieza cowering slightly and trying to act as if  
he wasn't.

"No unsanctioned fighting in this area," Piccolo said calmly. "Where's your sense of manners?"

Before they could try to formulate a response, Piccolo picked up King Vegita by the scruff of his armor and floated into the air again, carrying  
him away.

"The next time you two try to cause trouble again, it's on your heads, understand?"

Watching him fly away, Frieza carefully considered every small fragment of knowledge, every expression of the King. There was something  
going on, and he wanted to know what this was all about. Sitting down, his argument forgotten, Frieza tried to puzzle out why King Vegita  
would have been in the nurseries on that day.

Two years seemed to go agonizingly slow for Goku, who continued his intensive training. He almost killed himself several times, but every time  
he recovered. At first he had used the ships' gravity machines, but they only went up to 999, and after a while that didn't help him. Piccolo's  
meditation training had been new, but after a while it just became part of his routine. Still, when the years had passed, he found himself  
wondering how they had gone so fast.

After a while, he had scavenged a TV from one of the destroyed cities. He had built a make-shift home in one of them, right in the center. With  
any luck, no one would venture further into it than the outskirts. He didn't know what city it was, but it was a big one. He hadn't ever seen the  
whole thing, much less explored it. But he lived there, safe from any interfering things, like people.

Using the TV, he kept up to date on all of the events going on around him. There were constant reports of a killer virus that was starting to wipe  
out people all over the planet. After a year and a half, they announced the beginning of the end for the virus- a cure had been found.

Goku had actually laughed, and those were getting hard to come by, when he learned who had found the cure. It was Bulma! He still smiled  
when he thought of the odd irony: foiled by yourself! It took most of the rest of the time to cure everyone sick and vaccinate everyone else, and  
the disease claimed many more lives in that time. When everyone was immunized, they announced the total death toll of the virus. 

Figuring quickly, Goku determined there was only 60% of the original population left, even with all the Nameks coming to Earth. Quite a few  
people had died, he realized, in all this time, and many more probably would as well. Piccolo had made a comment about deaths long ago, now  
Goku was beginning to understand what he had meant. With any luck, this was all he had meant.

The city. The very last bastion of humanity, against the tide of destruction. Of final destruction. All of them went about their lives as normally  
as possible. But each lived with a fear, and fear they never gave voice to. It was odd, Goku thought; humanity had a tendency to regress to an  
earlier time. If they never spoke of something, it didn't really exist. How simply was the truth disguised.

Their world was going. None of them wanted to admit it. First the saiyans, then Trunks' alliance. A never ending cycle of destruction. But they  
were the last ones, the only bit of humanity left.

Each tried to escape into their lives, drown themselves in a plethora of unnecessary activity. Because none of them wanted to admit that their  
lives were empty. If they ever found themselves in a quiet moment, they might start thinking about life. And if they did that, they'd realize how  
empty they were. 

Just one, Goku considered. If he could get just one person to listen, to think about things. Then maybe everything could change. Hate wouldn't  
survive if people gave everything reasonable thought. At least, he hoped it couldn't.

Wouldn't that be grand? Goku chuckled at himself slightly. He gets to the ultimate point, a human bared to the soul. And there, instead of a  
pure being, he would find a solid core of hate. Or what if he found nothing at all? What if he peeled back all the layers they formed around  
themselves, all the actions they performed to impress others, and in the center, found nothing.

Shaking his head, Goku tried to get away from that type of thought. It couldn't possibly help him. What kept him sane? One would think any  
mind would crack under the depression. Then again, maybe he was already insane. But what did it matter? If everyone else was sane, he was  
fine being insane. 

Without giving it much thought, he drifted to the ground and wandered toward the city. Subconsciously, he slipped into stealth mode. Yet  
another thing he hadn't figured out yet. He barely knew how to do it, much less why he could. If anyone watching him concentrated, they could  
have seen a ripple glide across the ground, nothing more. Of course, if anyone had skill sensing ki, it was all useless. Somehow, he didn't  
imagine he was in any danger.

Entering the city, he drifted a few meters into the air so as not to run into anyone. People passed by, going about their daily lives. Their tiny,  
insignificant lives. Trying to find meaning. A crazy driver in an air car careened toward him, Goku wove to the side easily and drifted on. Not his  
problem. Let it go.

Something made him look back. Maybe a throwback to his superhero days. Or perhaps it was just something interesting. Whatever the reason,  
it changed everything. The air car struck the ground again, the anti-gravity generator extremely low. It slid down the street only a few inches off  
the ground. Toward a small child playing in the middle.

100 feet. The kid began to rush to the side. 

75 feet. He dropped his ball, and moved back to pick it up.

50 feet. For a moment he hesitated, ball in hand, gazing at the car.

25 feet. Like a deer in headlights, he failed to move.

20 feet. The driver didn't even see him, wasn't even going for the brakes.

15 feet. He finally saw, and frantically braked. It was too close.

10 feet. The car's generator failed, the car began to skid inexorably forward.

5 feet. Sparks from the pavement struck the little kid, he began to cry out.

2 feet. Goku gazed down at the scene, his face blank.

1 foot.

The air car smashed through the air, sending pavement flying into the nearby buildings. On the side of the street, Goku stood up again. He set  
down the small child, who was beginning to squirm. Across the street, the driver dragged himself to a halt. Police sirens could be heard in the  
distance.

He was crying. Goku looked down at the kid, who was sitting in the grass below him. Holding his slightly burnt arms, but crying over the loss of  
his ball. The plastic had been crushed into a flat sphere. For a second time seemed frozen, as Goku realized how familiar this seemed.

Of course, children could be forgiven. He could not have known that in comparison to his life, the ball was such a small thing. But everyone  
else should have known. They had no excuse. That was humanity, crying over their crushed ball.

Angrily striking out at the nearest object, the child flung a balled fist at him. Goku gently caught the child's hand. Holding it a second, Goku did  
nothing as they both watched energy flow from one to the other. Within seconds, the burns on the child's arms disappeared. He gazed at them  
in wonder, no longer angry.

Reaching out with his ki, Goku pulled the flattened ball over to him. Forcing air into the ball, Goku inflated it once again, then handed it back to  
the child. He took the ball, still awed. Then he giggled, the young laugh that only children could do. It had been a long time, Goku realized.  
Ages since he had heard that laugh.

"Stay away from him!"

Glancing up, Goku saw a woman running his direction. A mother. Her face was filled with anger. This was the last thing he needed. She'd attack  
him, if she thought it was necessary. 

Who was he kidding? She was human. She'd think it was necessary. The police vehicles were coming around the corner. In seconds a circle had  
formed around for him. Lights blared, sirens wailed, a voice on a megaphone shouted for him to put his hands up, screams were heard. All of it  
seemed distant to Goku, who didn't move, a sad smile fixed on his face.

Someone pulled the child away, he looked up in surprise. His happiness was gone. Raising two fingers to his forehead, Goku glanced at the  
assembled policemen once, then vanished completely.


	12. Episode XI: Between the Cracks

It was just over two years when Goku heard of the attacks. A large number of deaths in cities had been occurring in the last few days. They had all been centered on Nameks, but a good number of humans had also been killed. The current death tolls were around a million Nameks, and two thousand humans. The attackers were described strangely, but all stories held true. One was a very pale white and fat, the other was an old man with a moustache and long white hair. Goku was puzzled as to who they could possibly be, and decided to check it out.

After getting on his fighting gi (he had gotten some more in the meantime) he began flying. It didn't take long to find where the general area of the attacks were. Surprisingly, he didn't feel any sort of ki around, other then normal human's ki. He did feel Hercule coming, so he decided to see where he was going.

Arriving there, Goku saw one of the described men floating in the air, destroying a building full of Nameks. He was purely white colored, and very fat, dressed in a loose bit of brown and black clothing. A black turban-like hat rested on his head, the Red Ribbon Insignia on it. That brought back memories. Red Ribbon had once been in competition with Capsule Corps, but they had lost. Goku had finished off their army himself. What had that to do with anything?

Goku floated in front of it and made some noise. Even now, he still couldn't feel a ki coming from it. Changing his perception, Goku instead felt for energy signatures. Ah, now he felt something. Just then it heard his noises. It turned and looked at him, smirking evilly, but before it attacked, Hercule could be seen running in on the ground. At the same time, a large image of an old man appeared floating in front of the white man.

"Android 19," the face said, "kill the flying one, he will be no problem. Then lure Hercule back to the lab. He is the strongest man on Earth; I want to use the new androids on him."

"Yes, Dr. Gero," the white man said. His voice was incredibly high-pitched and squeaky. Goku felt like laughing at it, but he wasn't sure how strong this "android" was. And until he knew that, he wouldn't be laughing at anyone. Android 19 decided to get them both closer to the lab first, because he tore off in the opposite direction. Goku sped after him in hot pursuit. Hercule ran on the ground as fast as he could and got left behind.As he flew, another thought developed in his mind. Was the old man Dr. Gero? Goku vaguely remembered him, he had been one of the masterminds behind Red Ribbon's army. Goku had thought he died, but apparently he was still around and causing trouble. Android 19 tried to lose him, but failed, and Goku continued chasing him.

  
  


After flying only a few minutes, the android turned on him suddenly. Goku saw two giant metal doors blocking the way into the side of a mountain nearby. That must be the lab. But right at the moment, he had other problems, because Android 19 was flying at him.

Flipping backward, Goku dodged the punch and delivered a swift kick to 19's head. As the android fell back, stunned, Goku kicked him down with one heel, causing him to crash into the ground. The android came back up at him, but Goku backhanded him away easily. He was very strong, but Goku could beat him without even going Super Saiyan. That he wanted to save that for a time that he really needed it. Despite 19's strength, Goku found that his skill and speed were lacking, and the android just couldn't keep up with him.

The android came back at him, and they started really fighting now. It wasn't long before the android was barely able to fly at all, his blows became more and more wild. Each was easily turned aside and counterattacked. Suddenly 19 grabbed Goku's wrists with both hands and just held. Goku looked at him strangely.

"Now that I have a good grip," Android 19 squeaked, "I have your energy!"

Sure enough, Goku felt the drain of his energy, through the android's palms. During the fight, he had noticed small red circles on his palms, they must be capable of draining ki. But he wasn't too worried. He started forcing all of his energy into the white android. Energy flowed up the android's body and he squeaked happily, closing his eyes in bliss. As the energy rushed faster and faster, he opened his eyes again and looked very worried.Now the android tried to let go, but he found that he couldn't. He started glowing a hot white. Suddenly the turban he wore on his head blew off, revealing a mechanical looking brain in a glass globe beneath. Energy crackled over it as his system overloaded. The android grew whiter and brighter, until he exploded in a flash of brilliant light. When Goku looked again, all he saw was a ball of energy floating where the android had been. All of his energy began rushing back into him; he felt just fine now. 

Putting out a hand, Goku touched the orb, intending to use the energy there. It seemed hostile, not letting him absorb it very easily. If he tried it would be a rough ride. He couldn't do that now. Instead of letting it all go to waste, Goku pulled out a capsule he'd found back at home and trapped the energy orb inside. It shrank to a smaller size and Goku put it into his pocket. Just then Hercule came running up. He stood in the middle of the battlefield and saw the hat. Picking it up, he started looking at it.

Goku flew up and landed right above the door in the mountain. He didn't want anything that might come out of the lab to be able to see him. A few seconds later, the same man's face he'd seen before, this time with a body, came out, wiping his hands on a cloth. He wore the same sort of hat that 19 had worn, but also wore a black jacket and a red, puffy shirt with black pants.

"Good job, 19," he said. "Now that you've gotten rid of the scum-"

He stopped short as he saw Hercule standing there, holding 19's empty hat. Gaping, he quickly ran back inside. Goku shook his head and rolled his eyes. Hercule decided to leave and started running back, holding the cap as proof of his "victory." Letting him go, Goku dropped softly to the ground, walked through the still open doors and looked inside.

Darting into the shadows, Goku narrowly avoided being seen. The doors opened almost directly into the middle of a large room with little to hide behind. He would have been obvious. Gathering his speed, Goku darted in and dove for cover behind a few barrels of a green liquid. Ducking low, he stayed silent and hoped no one saw his little caper. When he finally dared to look out, he saw Dr. Gero standing in front of a computer, frantically pressing buttons. The hissing sound of hydraulics was heard from the wall in front of him. 

The entire wall swivelled around to reveal five large cases and a green tube. Something floated within the green tube. Each case and the tube had numbers on them, ranging from 16 to 20. The tube was labeled 21C. Goku was puzzled a second, then saw a large pile of broken case lids with a few numbers on them. Looking back, Goku saw that the 19 case was open, along with the 20. He smiled and understood, Android 19 has come from the case labeled 19 and so on. It made sense. But where was the Android 20?

Dr. Gero was pressing more buttons, with his back turned to Goku. Leaning forward, Goku saw a 20 printed on the back of Gero's hat. Huh? Goku had thought Gero was a person, but maybe he was wrong. It made sense though. So far all the androids he had seen were very ugly, and Dr. Gero fit that category.

Just then, the 17 case slid open. Gas hissed out from it, but when it cleared, in its place stood the next android. He had black, almost shoulder-length hair and wasn't as ugly as the others had been. His hair was a razor sharp cut above an red bandana that hung around his neck. Other than that, a black shirt with another Red Ribbon insignia and jeans. There was a rip in one knee, and for a second it distracted Goku. How had that gotten there? Something in the manner that he held himself seemed cocky and arrogant.

"Do you know who I am?" Gero asked.

"Yes," Android 17 said, his voice smooth and calm. "You created me."

"Good." Dr. Gero rubbed his hands together with glee, then hit another button. The 18 case slid open as well. The android that stepped from that case wasn't ugly either, Goku realized that neither of them wore odd hats, and they in general looked a lot more human. This one was a girl, with blond hair cut exactly like 17's. 18 wore a light blue jacket and a lightly striped shirt.

"Do you know who I am?" The doctor, or Android 20, he supposed, repeated the question.

"Yes." 18's voice sounded a lot like her brother's. "You created me."

"Most excellent." Dr. Gero moved back to the computer.

"What happens now?" 17 asked, folding his arms in front of him.

"Now?" the doctor asked. "Now I open 16 to join you two. He's not done, but he'll function."

"And then what?" 18 joined in.

"Then," Dr. Gero smiled evilly yet again. Goku decided that he might be insane. "Then I rule the world. If anyone opposes me, and they will, you'll cut them down."

"Can't you do your dirty work yourself?" 17 asked. "You did turn yourself into an android."

Dr. Gero just grunted and turned back to the computer again.

"We really don't like that idea," 17 said, sounding a bit menacing.

"Are you threatening me?" Dr. Gero thundered, turning around.

"Yes," 17 said simply. He flew forward faster then Goku thought possible, crushing a small controller that Gero held in his hands. 

"Ha!" Android 17 smirked. "Without that, you're powerless! You will never turn us off again!" He leaped for Gero once more.

He barely got to Gero before lightning suddenly crackled all over him. 18 also fell under a barrage of lightning that lanced across both androids. They tried to stand, but were beaten down by the power. Finally they both were on the floor, barely able to move.

"So the siblings try to rebel against me?" Gero said, looking amused. "How absurd. Didn't you think I'd have a backup plan? I knew that making you out of humans was a bad idea. Too much free will. Well, I installed a way of stopping you, so it won't work. And it activates on thought, so don't think about trying to destroy it. I'll let you up now, if you're feeling more obedient."

Both climbed to their feet. Goku was impressed, as they already appeared to have mostly recovered from the electricity. What Goku was not impressed with was Dr. Gero's behavior. He stepped out from behind his barrels and into plain view. Dr. Gero heard him and turned.

"Who are you?"

"Not someone that really matters," Goku replied, gathering his ki around him slowly. "Just an innocent passerby who happened to wander in."

"Really?"

"No." Goku rolled his eyes. "Why do you want to do this, Gero? Why do you want to control Earth? Why does it matter that much to you?"

"Why?" the doctor looked infuriated. "Why!? Because I could rid the Earth of everyone! Everyone dead, a world of peaceful silence! Anyone who isn't human! Don't you share my grand dream?"

"You have a sick mind, Gero." Goku shook his head. "You've made yourself into an android too. Wouldn't you have to kill yourself?"

"Of course not!"

"But you would kill the other androids?"

"Well, yes. How'd you know that?"

Goku smiled slightly, but he honestly didn't know. The knowledge just seemed right, he felt at peace with it.

"You annoy me," Gero muttered, eyes moving shiftily. "17 and 18, attack!"

"But we don't want-" 18 began.

"Now!" Gero roared, more electrical power crackling over them. They stumbled and then attacked Goku.

Before they got to him, Goku turned Super Saiyan. Without that, he knew he couldn't beat them. Dr. Gero may have been insane, but he did his work well, they were both very powerful. Dodging 17, he grabbed his arm and threw him into his sister. They fell, but got up and flew back at him, slamming him into the wall. Goku kicked upward, knocking them both back.

Whirling, he kicked 18 through a nearby wall, but 17's fists bit into him from behind. As he turned and bashed him downward, 18 came from behind and got him in a choke hold. Reaching behind his head, Goku grabbed her and hurled her away from him. 17 attacked, and they traded blows briefly before he knocked him back as well.

Both leaped forward, one on the right and one on the left. Goku's hands whipped up and he caught their fists. Tightening his grip, he hurled them both to the ground, and slammed a wall of ki into them. They both struggled to get up.

"I'm sorry," Goku whispered, holding up his hands.

Firing two energy bolts, Goku kept them both down on the ground. 17 got up first. Goku fired a slow- moving kienzan at him. 17 dodged easily and smirked, but didn't see Goku anywhere. While he was distracted, Goku got him in a chin-lock. 17 struggled but couldn't break out of Goku's grip. 18 got up, but Goku tightened his grip threateningly.

18 glanced at Gero.

"Kill them both, now!" Blue electricity danced at his fingertips menacingly.

18 sighed and fired a shot. Growling slightly, Goku decided he'd had it with Gero. He was going to let loose. Goku threw 17 from him and batted 18's beam aside with one hand. He raised both hands, and-

"Solar Flare!"

While the androids covered their eyes in pain, Goku had an open season on them. When Dr. Gero could finally see again, Goku stood, both androids sprawled out around him. Goku seemed poised to destroy them, energy glowing in his hands. But after a second of tension he calmed down and released his ki.

"Go ahead, kill them, saiyan." Gero spat it out.

"I won't," Goku said calmly. "They don't want to attack me. You have them set on an incredibly destructive mode, Gero. Their personalities are to destroy. You did that, Gero, you!"

"Your point?" Gero snickered. That was a mistake. In an instant Goku was at his throat, forcing him against the wall.

"They were people!" Goku barked into his face, anger blazing in his eyes. "You did this to them, made them your slaves. Do you think they'll like you, Gero?"

"They don't need to," Gero choked out. Goku shook his head and smiled sadly, his anger ebbing.

"You don't understand, do you? You can't keep them down forever. You want to rule Earth, you say you'll cut down all that oppose you. Do you realize that everyone will, by your standards? You'll basically go on a killing spree for no reason. That's what you really want, isn't it? To kill?

"And they won't always stay under your control, Gero. As you mold them into killing machines, they'll hate you as much as everyone else. Because you never treated them as people, as if they had any natural rights. That very evil mentality you have them set in will be your undoing. They'll adapt, grow stronger. And one day, your little electrical device won't work. And they won't have a shred of compassion left for you, or anyone else. They kill you, Gero, and they'll destroy the Earth."

"You don't know that." Gero's eyes blazed with anger too, now. There was no standoff, because Goku was no longer angry; he dropped out of Super Saiyan.

"Gero, you are a fool," he began, "but I will give you one chance. A single chance to change. I'll be back in a day, and if you still go with your mad scheme, I'll finish you. One day."

Turning, Goku walked away from the doctor, who collapsed on the floor rubbing his throat. Stopping briefly by the androids Goku only said, "I'm very sorry," before leaving. With a last glance at Gero, he walked from the lab, then began to run, then flew. He had a deadline to make.

He didn't know where he had gotten most of the stuff he had said, it had just come to him. But the more he thought about it, the more it made sense. Maybe this was what Piccolo did; Goku wasn't sure. Something in Goku seemed to remember something, that his answer was at Kami's Lookout. So he flew there, to try and find an answer to his problem. He needed to stop Gero's electricity device. Then he could see the androids for who they would become, not who they were forced to be. If that was a problem, well, he would do what needed to be done, he was a lot stronger than them.

Getting to Kami's Lookout, he flew to the top and looked around. Everything was deserted, even Mr. Popo wasn't there. After Kami had died, he must have left as well. Standing on top of the Lookout, Goku suddenly felt a twinge of pain hit him. There was no one around, yet something was hurting him. Wincing in pain, he fell to his knees. His heart blasted pain at him, Goku clutched it as hard as he could. Finally he couldn't take the pain anymore and fell to the floor. In a few seconds, his mind slipped from consciousness.

  
  


Up in the Afterlife, Piccolo sat cross-legged, watching all that happened. Trunks was behind him, whooping and cheering along with Vegita, Gohan and everyone else.

"I told you!" Trunks laughed in Piccolo's face. "Goku has the heart disease! He doesn't have the medicine! He's gonna die! You lose Piccolo! Game Over!"

Piccolo didn't say anything. He just watched Goku lying there, dying. Now would be the time to see if he had really made a difference. Would Dr. Gero fail, or would he succeed in ruling the world? Would the androids get another chance, or die as collateral damage? Would the entire universe be saved, or destroyed? It all boiled down to one question: Would Goku live, or die?

Back in the lab, Gero laughed. Touching the computer, he opened up the 16 case as well. 16 was by far his strongest android. Not quite his perfect creation, his gaze briefly lingered on the tube, but his strongest android. 16 was also completely under his control, could do nothing but fight, and would enjoy the fight as well. He could also protect the doctor at all costs in a tough situation.

16 stepped from his case and nodded to Gero, then went back and stood against the wall, folding his arms and waiting to be given an order or command. 16 seemed around eight feet tall, towering over everyone there. He wore a large, metallic green vest and his arms and legs were covered by black spandex like material. His face was expressionless. Gero smiled.

"It's time to attack."

  
  


High above, even above the Afterlife, Dai Kioshin watched Goku's body suffer as the heart disease continued its rampage through him. He smiled slightly and stretched; he had been sitting here and watching world events far too long. Purple skin was covered by a dark blue vest and light red pants. One line of hair stood up in a dark purple mohawk in the center of his head.

"What will happen to him, Master?" His apprentice was there, waiting patiently for him. He was attired like his mentor, but his mohawk was a light green.

"He should die. We waited long enough to try this, now was the very latest I would like."

"The other Kioshins were not helpful in this matter, Master."

"No, they wouldn't believe me. They didn't realize that I was right, as I always am. Foolish amateurs. They're no better than mortals in their foresight."

His apprentice remained silent.

"It had already begun. His sheer determination is powering his body to new heights. He's getting better and better by the second. Look at him awhile, my apprentice. He already looks younger. All the power, strength and experience of an adult in the body of someone at his prime. He's gone through many hardships, but his body is functioning at maximum efficiency anyway. It was past time that we finished him."

"Saiyans never grow old, Master."

"True," Dai Kioshin was slightly irritated. "But they have an internal clock. When it ends, they just die. Goku's clock went backward and then just froze." 

"So this heart disease will be deadly and erase his spirit from existence?"

"Yes, it will. This is our ultimate weapon for those we don't want. You must learn to use it well."

"If your genius increases in such rapid bounds, Master, we may yet defeat Evil."

Dai Kioshin was silent for a long time, his eyes tightening. 

"Yes we will. You, my young apprentice, have much to learn, but you understand what matters. Do not trust these humans, these Nameks or saiyans, any of these mortals. Only we Kioshins may be trusted, as only we are beings worthy of life. This is one thing you have well in your grasp, my student."

Their conversation continued long into the night. Neither noticed the dark form sitting cross legged on the roof above them. Piccolo sighed heavily and resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. He was discouraged. He was helpless to do anything yet, he just had to hope that he had done enough. Don't count me out yet, Dai, he thought. I may not matter to you, I may be a "worthless scum of a Namek" but the game isn't over yet. You don't know my hand, but you've laid yours on the table. It's not over yet.

Sighing heavily, Piccolo collapsed in on himself. Only his spirit kept him aloft, burning with a single hope, that the power of friendship could yet prevail.


	13. Episode XII: Android Saga

Another giant building fell, still full of people. 17 was in a frenzy, bashing huge buildings down every which way. 18 was worried that one of these days he was going to hit one of them, but it never happened. Android 16 did his own thing, a mindless killing spree that never ended. At the end of every time, he washed his hands of blood, then returned to his normal standing position, arms folded. He followed only Dr. Gero's orders. Conversation attempts with him proved fruitless.

A human came wildly swinging at them, 17 dodged, then grabbed him by the shoulders. Flying up into the sky, 17 dropped him hundreds of feet to his doom. 18 raised her hands and launched a bolt that eradicated a bunch of Nameks. Their rampage just went on and on, stopping only when Dr. Gero needed to rest. 

"All you androids will die!" Someone roared at them suddenly. 18 glanced up. Some warrior was standing before them, looking very angry.

"All you mechanical monsters are doomed to be destroyed!" He yelled again. This was the better type of warrior to run into. 18 darted forward, kneeing him in the gut. This kind that yelled about how they'd kill all the androids, 18's conscience didn't weigh very heavy with them. They never treated her like an individual being, so they didn't seem that important themselves. But then again, only Goku had ever treated her like anything but a machine. That was the one good memory that she had, before becoming an android had faded for her.

The other kind, the kind that ran away or had something to fight for, that was the bad kind. 18 could never stand looking at them, she let 17 or 16 handle those cases when possible, hid behind an emotionless mask when it wasn't. It was just too much for her, despite the way her face betrayed no emotion. At those times, 18 almost sobbed, only Dr. Gero's inhuman programming prevented her. Seeing them do their best to protect what they loved, their families, and seeing them fail miserably and die horrible deaths. Even now, she realized she was caring less and less about those as well.

This warrior brought both hands down on her head. 18 took the ineffective blow, then kicked him hard in the face. He went flying and hit a building before falling down, dead. Everyone else just turned back to what they were doing, continuing their destructive spree.

King Yemma sighed, wishing that the rampage on Earth would just stop and he wouldn't have so much paperwork to do. None of them had ever suspected this much of a problem, a darkness had suddenly welled up from nowhere and engulfed the planet. If the Kais would put aside their petty differences and stop yelling at each other, then maybe they might have prevented it.

Working through dead spirits as fast as possible, King Yemma glanced at the clock and sighed again. Almost time, very soon. Then he'd get the few precious rests he could ever get. Things hadn't slowed for all these months, and they didn't seem likely to now.

  
  


Dr. Gero had decided they'd camp for the night now. 18 didn't know how long they had been fighting, how many days or months this had gone on, she didn't really care. As long as she could keep from concentrating on what she was doing, she would be alright. The team of androids moved on, but they had just exited the city. Dr. Gero announced that they would camp in the clearing ahead.

Making their way into it, everyone sat down. Dr. Gero pulled out a capsule house he had recently found and went into it, 16 turned himself off and sat there, a mindless husk. 17 stretched and relaxed, leaning between two trees. But 18 was still restless. She didn't need any sleep, she wanted to keep moving. 

Things were tough, but she had adapted. She'd gotten hard, no mercy remained in her now. The shell around her almost enjoyed being cruel, no longer caring about those she killed. Walking around the outside of the quickly erected camp, she suddenly saw something that made her stop in her tracks.

A stone, polished and smooth, stood over a mound of dirt. Beside it stood a giant boulder, the bottom taken off so it would rest on the ground. Moving closer, 18 could read the inscription on the headstone. Reading through it, she realized how much Goku must have suffered. He was really under a lot of pain. Moving to the second grave, this one merely read Piccolo on top of it.

"To the only real friend I ever had," 18 murmured softly. "I don't understand how he could help us, when he was still suffering so much on his own."

Finally the emotional web that Dr. Gero had placed on his androids cracked. 18 slid to the ground, almost sobbing, but not quite. This was too much for her to take, the death, the destruction. Even the cruelty that surrounded her was touched in a strange way. The only person who had ever been kind to her was the person who had the least reason to be. A single tear leaked out, landing at the foot of the grave.

  
  


Deep in the headquarters of a secret military base, two leaders planned. Neither even knew the other's name, and at a single sign of hostility, both had dozens of guards ready to come out and crush the others. It had taken a long time to even allow this tense meeting, but the androids had created an all-too-fragile peace. 

"Gentlemen," the Commander said, "we have only one option. We need to band together to destroy these androids once and for all before they destroy us!"

"There's a war going on here, Commander!" the General barked. "Are we just going to lay down arms and join you?"

"Make no mistake," the Commander growled. "I hate you as much as you hate me, even more. But I think this threat is more important."

"Never!" the General roared, standing up. "You say that you hate me more then I hate you, but you are willing for us to make an alliance? You're hatred is a paltry thing, barely worthy of my wrath!"

"Our only hope is a single, solid strike," the Commander insisted. They battled on, but finally left to their respective sides. But, almost in tandem, each secretly planned to take out the androids themselves, even though the other didn't know it.

"They finally get done arguing," Android 17 muttered. He was sitting atop a ventilation shaft, comfortably seated and watching all that happened. The security here was outdated, much less then the lab, and 17 could defeat even that security if he was careful. This was a piece of cake.

"Humans." He shook his head, getting down from his resting spot as he mused to himself. "It's so strange. They're too busy killing each other to stop and notice that we're killing them faster. And now they won't even try to work together."

Smirking, 17 sped out of the base, easily dodging the security systems. He had planned this as a little relaxation, but now he actually had some information to report. Picking up speed, he started flying back to tell the others.

  
  


But the armies never realized that the androids weren't their worst enemy. They hadn't seen their worst enemy yet. Deep within a mountain, there stood two metal doors, now closed and sealed once more. Inside, a tube rested, filled with a green liquid. A very large bag-like bug rested inside, feeding off the nutrients in the liquid.

Something inside the bug rustled, like it was trying to get out. There was a suddenly ripping and tearing, as a slit broke down the side of the bug and something stepped out, shedding its skin. The green monster looked around, smiled, then shattered the tube to get out. Taking its first breaths, a red mouth opened and closed slightly as he breathed; his skin mottled black and green. A giant tail protruded from his back end, arcing up like a scorpion's and ending in a wicked spike. Looking around, the monster laughed. 

"This worked. I am Cell. I am truly alive. Now it's time to show Gero where my loyalties lie!" He raced off into the night, barely stopping for the metal doors, which shattered as he ran through them. There was a city up ahead, and he wanted to get to it fast. The destruction was about to begin.

  
  


17 arrived back at the camp in time to tell everyone. They sat and waited, smirking at the foolish humans. He looked around, a bit puzzled, where was 18? Ah, but it didn't matter, they could beat them without his sister or with her. The sound of helicopters broke through the air, airplanes coming toward them. Gero signaled for both 16 and 17 to take to the skies.

Making a minor but large attack, 17 launched a wide flash that incinerated the first line of aircraft. 16 brushed him aside.

"I will handle this."

Taking off his hands at the wrists, 16 revealed two dark openings. From them, energy flashed. 16 moved his hands back and forth, strafing the airplanes. The results were disastrous. It took only one minute for the entire force to be nothing but twisted lumps of metal on the ground. 16 put his hands back on and waited for the ground strikes.

As he waited, 17 smirked. Why did the humans always try to fight them? They probably knew it wouldn't do any good, so why did they even try? He had thought they would just keep killing each other, at least then they could see some "progress."

Now the ground units rolled in, crushing hundreds of trees with them. Soon there was an entire arc of atomic weaponry all pointed directly at the androids. Gero signaled for 16 to move back down and then floated up himself. 17 smirked, a typical expression for him; the old man was finally getting his hands dirty.

"Surrender at once or be destroyed!" A man announced from one atomic tank with a megaphone. Gero started flying forward and toward him. The man gaped, then pulled out an Uzi and opened it up, full fire, on him. Gero didn't even slow, he just kept coming toward him. More weapons opened up on him, but they did little good. 17 saw a giant missle range slowly turning to target Gero.

"Good grief," 17 muttered. "Those things are way too slow!"

All fifty missiles targeted Gero and fired. They crashed in a gigantic mushroom cloud explosion from behind Gero. When the dust cleared, Gero looked back at them and laughed. The tank itself had been blown back twenty feet, but Gero hadn't budged an inch. Sweeping up to the man with the megaphone, Gero grabbed it from him and clubbed him over the head with it.

The next missle launcher targeted 17. He easily darted back and forth, dodging every blast. They continued for about a minute, with no luck. Even the gunners in charge of it had sore fingers, but 17 drew his energy from a self generating supply within himself. He wasn't even winded.

At this point, however, the useless firing was finally getting on 17's nerves. 

"Do your worst!" He called out to them. "I won't try to dodge. Launch everything at me!"

They did. Every battery of weaponry, every destructive weapon they had all targeted the lone figure standing in the air. At a single signal, all the weapons launched, an awesome display of destructive power. The mushroom cloud generated was vast, expanding all the way out of the atmosphere, where it started floating off forever. 

When the dust cleared, and there was a lot of it, 17 stood there, watching them.

"You haven't even managed to scratch my bandana!" he called to them. "How do you expect to hurt me?"

Just then 17 got pushed to the side by his sister. 18 stepped forward in the sky and raised two hands. 17 cynically waved goodbye at the army. A giant flash lit up the sky, blasting the army and leaving lines across their vision. When 17 blinked the energy residue from his eyes, there were only a few bits of scrap metal left. 

Gero waved them on, and they all moved on to the next city. 17 glanced back once at the field. It had once been a forest, but now it was a barren, charred wasteland. He noticed, oddly, that the grass still grew in one little place, down in the middle, by a big, oddly-shaped boulder. Shrugging, 17 turned back and caught up with the rest of the group. However, Gero wasn't destroying things; he seemed to be searching for something. Apparently spotting it, he turned back to them and smiled an evil smile. Android 17 licked his lips, because that smile looked like a whole new wave of destruction.


	14. Episode XIII: Android Saga

The King was starting to doubt Bardock's word. It had been years, and nothing had come yet. Bardock tried to council patience, but the King was upset. Back on Earth, Bardock made an amazing discovery, Kakkarrot was alive! His son was fighting two people, and Bardock almost collapsed when he saw them. They were the same two people from his dream. They would completely destroy him, he didn't stand a chance.

But something happened. Kakkarrot won, then suddenly seemed to blip from existence. Bardock was puzzled, but soon, he would have much more pressing matters on his hands.

  
  


Deep in the city, a comet flew down. It struck in the center, and Bardock immediately got it on a visual screen. Everyone in the courtroom watched in skeptical amusement as steam floated from the hatches. Bardock was frozen with fear.

Two sets of eyes appeared amidst the fog. Then the two were standing there just as in his vision, and the destruction had begun. The council immediately argued over what was to be done, but they came to a standstill. Bardock barely listened, worrying over what to do. How could he survive? He had to live through this, somehow.

Just as they had agreed to fight the warriors to the fullest, the door was blasted open. The androids stood there, glancing at them for a second, then sped forward. Toma created an artificial moon ball, and the say-jins transformed into Oozaru. Bardock laughed; the androids hadn't anticipated this at all.

Diving forward, he took a hard hit to the chin from the blond-haired one. He fell, unconscious from a single hit. Mistaking him for dead, Android 18 turned back to the fight.

While Bardock was not among the world of the living, the fight continued. 17 flew straight for Toma, who held out a hand to stop him. He screamed in agony as 17 flew directly through his hand, then through his heart. He slumped to the ground. Android 18 leaped into the air, kicking two Oozaru away, and shattered the moon ball. All the say-jins suddenly shrank back down to their normal size.

The King jumped forward, along with a few other warriors. Android 17 lazily launched a ki flash, and only the king survived the blast. Glancing around wildly, he saw that he was the only one left. He was going to get double teamed.

"Are you just going to smash me together?" the King roared, hoping to stall for a bit of time.

"Not at all." Android 17 smirked. "18, you take him down. Yourself."

18 waited for him to attack. The King flew forward, and a second later the situation just seemed to change. He was hurtling through the air where 18 had been. She was behind him, holding his tail firmly. Writhing in agony, the king could barely move from the pain. Smiling maliciously, 18 put her other hand on his tail and twisted in opposite directions. He screamed even louder.

Letting him go, 18 flew around in front of him, then launched a kick that completely shattered his rib cage. Kicking him in the side, 18 made sure he was dead, then nodded to her brother and they flew off again. Bardock recovered only seconds later. He saw them flying off into the sky and roared in anger. Realizing he couldn't compete with them, he looked around. Everyone he had known was dead, all gone.

Ripping off a piece of his shirt, Bardock dipped it in the blood of each of his fallen comrades. Taking the bright red stained rag, he tied it around his head and looked into the sky again. He wouldn't stop until they were both dead. He'd destroy them forever.

  
  


The say-jins started coming in by the millions, making a backup in the Afterlife. They were all greeted by a cheerfully smiling Piccolo, who sat beside the gates. He found this incredibly funny. The only thing that would make it more so was if the androids sold planet Vegita to someone. The say-jins mostly seemed angry, a few understood how useless it was to fight.

Leaning back, Piccolo smiled. No matter how things went on Earth, this was going very well.

  
  


Days went by. Bardock relentlessly pursued the androids. One day, he suddenly found them waiting for him, watching him from the sky. So they had known he was following them the entire time. Bardock gritted his teeth again. The androids were both so perfect looking, and they killed so easily, it drove him mad.

"Well, well, well," Android 17 said softly. "Hello little say-jin."

Bardock refused to talk to him.

"You are the last say-jin left on the planet left," 17 told him. "So we'll give you a chance. Meet us on the field a few miles from here. We'll fight it out there one final time. I'll let you take one of us at a time, even, to be fair. See you then."

They both flew off in an instant. Bardock followed at a slow pace. He needed to conserve strength if he wanted to win this. It still didn't take him long to get to the chosen battlefield. It looked fair enough, a plain field. Both androids stood in plain sight, waiting for him.

Stepping out onto the field as well, he looked at both of them menacingly. 18 looked expressionless, 17 looked amused.

"Which of us do you want to fight first?" 17 asked, looking at him. Bardock tried to think quickly, not his strong point. He pointed to the girl, she'd be weaker and easier to kill. Then he could take down 17.

17 darted back off the battlefield and sat down on a boulder to watch the fight. 18 dropped smoothly into a fighting stance in front of Bardock, watching his every move. Bardock tightened his headband.

"You destroyed everyone I knew," Bardock growled. "This headband is soaked with their blood. I have vowed to not take it off until I avenge their deaths."

"Then I'll be careful not to let it drip on me," 18 said softly, "I'd hate to get blood on myself."

"You'll have blood on yourself anyway!" Bardock roared, but he didn't attack, yet. He was charging up his ki for one giant blow; 18 didn't seem to realize it.

"That's interesting," 18 said, almost to herself, her eyes looking at something far beyond him. "So you're Goku's father?"

"Yes." Bardock was dumbfounded. How did she know Kakkarrot?

"Well, I'll won't make your death like I was going to then,"

"Mercy! You're going to show me mercy? I'd be showing you mercy if I took you apart and turned you into a toaster!"

18 flicked back a lock of blond hair nonchalantly. Despite everything, Bardock found himself a bit distracted. Getting impatient, 18 gestured quickly. 

"Attack, now."

Bardock launched his ki blast. An inferno sped forward, blazing everything in the space in front of him. It's brilliance made even Bardock cover his eyes. It hit 18 dead on, Bardock chuckled softly. Then he saw something amid the dust that had risen. Not a crumpled form, but one that was standing.

As the dust settled, 18 stood there, in exactly the same position she had been in before. 

"I had expected a bit better from Goku's father," she muttered. Bardock flew forward in a punch, but 18 inclined her head slightly and he missed. Before he could get his balance, 18 grabbed his arm and hurled him into the air. He righted himself and came charging down at full speed, fist first, but 18 held up one hand easily. His fist hit the slender fingers and stopped in mid-punch, useless.

Doing a back flip, 18 kicked him in the face. As he fell, she grabbed his tail. Bardock writhed around in agony a while, and 18 began to tighten her grip. 

"I said I'd change your planned death," 18 explained, emotionless. "I meant I'd make it worse."

Digging her fingernails into Bardock's tail, she caused the say-jin to scream in agony. After a few seconds of incredible pain, the last say-jin's life ended. The androids climbed back into their ship, then 18 launched a final blast at planet Vegita. As they sped back to earth to continued destruction there, the entire planet exploded in a spectacular blast. 17 tapped the ships controls and leaned back in his chair. One more job done.

  
  


Darkness. 

Pain. 

Nothingness. 

Light?

The nothingness faded into a brilliant light, then Bardock found himself standing in a pleasant green field. He was dead now, in the Afterlife. Thinking about how he died, he shook his head and moaned softly. He'd gotten beaten, and badly. Disgust filling him, he ripped the headband off and ground it under one foot. It was useless to him now that he was dead. Now he needed to connect with the other saiyans

Running slightly, it took him only a short while to find the vast crowds of saiyans who were standing around, looking upset. Feeling through all the kis, Bardock found the ones he wanted and flew to them. Toma and the King stood there, along with everyone else who had died in that group.

"Oh, they got you too, Bardock?" Toma asked looking at him. "You're the last one."

"There are no more sayains left," the King replied sadly. "We were hoping the race could continue."

"No," Bardock said softly. "There is one say-jin left. My son survived."

"What?" Toma asked. "Wasn't he Kakkarrot, didn't he have a power level of around two?"

"Yes, but he's gotten a lot stronger since then," Bardock told him. "I sent him off to Earth."

"Well, the androids are going there too," another saiyan said. "I suppose it doesn't matter a lot."

"I hate them with every fiber of my being," Toma hissed. There was more anger on his face then Bardock had ever seen. "What right do they have to come onto our planet, wipe our warriors out like flies, kill children in front of their parents, and slaughter everyone?"

"It's so cruel isn't it," a mocking voice came from above. Everyone's head's turned to see a green alien standing there. He looked at them, and one by one they thought about what Toma had just said and they all dropped the subject.

"Why, I don't feel sorry for some reason." His voice was low and serious now. "I'm sure you could find loads of sympathy in the other parts of the Afterlife. They'll tell you such touching stories about how they tried to fight the people who killed their families, and how they failed and lost their very lives. A big, evil, nasty race called the sai-"

"Shut up!" the King roared, yelling in the Namek's face. Piccolo smiled at him, then shoved him off with the nudge of a finger, sending him tumbling. Something caught in Bardock, but no, this alien was wearing black, not purple, and he had on a white cloak. This one wouldn't kill him, he didn't need to be worried.

Flying into the air, Piccolo waved a parting goodbye at them. "Well, I have to go bother some more saiyans, see ya around!"

Grumbling, Bardock looked away as he vanished.

  
  


Dai Kioshin watched Goku slowly die, slipping further and further away from himself every day. The android's rampage had been going on for almost a year now, and it would continue for a long time. But the arrival of this new, green warrior troubled him. He had no idea who he was, but he was powerful. The green machine had destroyed just as much as the androids.

Piccolo knew there wasn't much left for him here. Running back, he started running down Snake Way. Some things were going his way, but ultimately the most important thing was still falling. He sighed again. If he had tried so hard, why did it seem like he was losing?

  
  


The androids stopped at a small cabin. Not that 16, 17 or 18 ever needed any rest, but Dr. Gero still did. Another one of his weaknesses, 17 supposed. He went for a short walk around the cabin. There had been some people in it, but after some initial complaints, they didn't say anything. 17 grinned. They wouldn't ever say anything again, for that matter.

18 sat in a chair, concentrating. The grave incident had disturbed her. She was going through all the memory files that Gero had installed inside all of his androids. She had wanted to do this long ago, but her system files had been temporarily severed while she was on planet Vegita. Searching through, finding lots of information she didn't need, 18 at last found the file on Goku.

What she found inside dismayed her more than the graves had. Goku had lived a terrible life, with everyone he knew leaving him, then nearly dying as someone he had graciously spared killed them all. The only friend he had ever had died in the rampage. His wife had left him, and another woman from the future had tried to kill him as well. Somehow he had survived. 18 didn't know where he was now, but he hadn't ever come back again.

Despite her emotional block, 18 felt vaguely sad that she wouldn't see him again. It felt good to be treated like a person, instead of a killer or a machine. Even the darkest part of her mind wanted that again.

  
  


Vegita's eyes widened as he saw a crowd of saiyans stumble in the doors of the afterlife. Where had they come from? He didn't know. Looking through them, he saw a few he remembered. Talking to them he found a horror story unfolding...

  
  


Coming back from his walk, 17 found that they were all ready to go again. That was good, as most of the time they had to wait longer, and then he would get bored. And being bored was really the only thing that he feared, other than Gero's electrical weapon. He had used it a few more times, but over the months they had gone on their spree, he had needed to use it less and less.

18 led them this time, and she seemed to be going some place in particular. Not that 17 cared, one place was about as exciting as the next. Dr. Gero didn't care either. He had long since lost his goal of ruling Earth. Now he was just sort of in a crazed frenzy to kill as many humans as possible.

They landed beside a small capsule house. A woman inside shrieked as they moved in. 16 ripped the door apart and tossed it up into the sky a few hundred feet. 18 moved forward, and with one quick movement launched a beam that burned the woman to vapor. Gero didn't sense anyone else in the house, so he just exploded the entire thing with a quick blast. 

18 gave up the lead, and 17 was a bit surprised. He saw a slight smile on his sister's usually expressionless face. Puzzled by this, 17 thought on it for a while; it took him only a few minutes of destruction to forget it.

  
  


Cell smirked as he watched the humans run from him. They were all too slow, they couldn't possibly outrun him. He finished draining the human he was on and moved on. Just then he noticed a whole group was running for the edge of town.

"Not so fast," Cell muttered with his ghastly voice. " Kamehameha!"

The Kamehameha sped forward, blazing energy in front of the humans attempting to escape. It also started a large fire in front of them. Screaming, the humans ran in the opposite direction, right where Cell had repositioned himself. He stabbed another with his tail and started draining him, feeling the minor energies flowing into him. Smirking, the monster moved on, draining human after human.

But the power wasn't enough for him; he wanted the androids. That was what would really allow him to find his true power. Cell stalked on, following their path of destruction just a little to the west, destroying a whole new swath of cities.

  
  


18 felt slightly glad for the first time in a very long time. After killing Chi-chi, she had continued to try and track down this Bulma woman. But today she had finally done it. As soon as it was her turn to take the lead, she sped off in the right direction.

Bulma had been living in an underground building for some time, but 18 had finally located its approximate location. Scanning around, she found two kis, one normal and another stronger. 18 plummeted straight down toward it. Gathering her power around her, she hit the rock face at full speed. It exploded, revealing an entire home underground. The others followed her in.

They found Bulma fairly quickly. Bulma screamed, but was cut short as 18 slammed her through the walls of the house and into the solid rock. Letting her drop, she gave the signal to fly on and out again, as there wasn't anything more she needed to do here.

"Stop, you murderers!" the voice came from the side. The four of them turned. A young boy was standing there, hair glowing and golden. Running a search through her files, 18 failed to find anything on what this might be. It was obvious that wasn't his natural hair color. Goku had done something similar, his hair had also become golden. So what exactly was this? When Goku had done it, his power had jumped significantly, but when this kid did, it hardly mattered. Checking Goku's file carefully, she identified a name for this thing. Super Saiyan. 

Her mind snapped back to the present, watching the boy, who was looking very, very angry. Diving forward in a tight spiral, he ran into Android 16. The giant didn't move, glanced down at him, then backhanded him off and into the rock. 18 bounced off of the ground and rammed him into a building. He flew through it, only to meet her foot on the other side. 

The kid fell, landing in the dirt, severely beaten already. Contempt evident on her face, 18 kicked him in the side slightly. He rolled over and moaned. Raising a hand, 18 gathered a bit of energy and then launched it. There wasn't anything left, and the androids flew off again.

18 smiled her smile again. 17 was getting nervous, his sister usually didn't smile so much. What was going on?

  
  


Dai Kioshin almost fell from his chair. His apprentice rushed to help him back into it, but the elder Kioshin just waved him off. When he finally found his breath again, he got up and managed to sit down in his chair. Breathing heavily, he finally found the voice to speak.

"Not my old age, just surprise," he panted. "Something has happened."

"What is it, my Master?"

"Bulma has died," Dai lamented. "That was never suppose to happen! Things are spiraling out of control here, but we should be able to right it, just as soon as Goku finally dies."

"Very well, Master." 


	15. Episode XIV: Android Saga

A word to my reviewer: the reason Bulma wasn't supposed to die is a bit more complicated than cause and affect. Dai Kioshin has knowledge of future events, and in that knowledge, Bulma remains alive. Except that now she's dead. Which means that something is very wrong, and that a new element has been introduced outside of his knowledge.

  
  


I can't get your e-mail, but you can see mine. If you send yours to me I wouldn't have to waste anyone else's time. Then again, you might not feel this is necessary.

  
  


-

  
  


Far away, on Snake Way, Piccolo's frown moved up a bit. Chi-chi and Bulma's death had lifted him out of his depression a little bit, at least. He had made some difference in the course of things. But he wasn't sure if it would matter. It was too bad he never got to see the expression on Dai Kioshin's face when it happened. This was interesting, he needed to think on this. Maybe there was a chance he had never even considered.

  
  


Atop Kami's Lookout, Goku lay, out of the world of the living. But at least now, he dreamed, and in dreams, he could escape the terrible agony, if only for a moment. Glancing around, Goku realized where he was. It was his own house, the place he knew so well. There didn't seem to be anyone around.

Walking inside, Goku found that the door was already opened. Ah, as such were dreams, if this was really a dream. The thought occurred to Goku that the pain was finally gone, he was free of it for the first time. As he looked around inside, however, he saw something that blew all thoughts of that from his mind.

On a bed, lying fairly peacefully, Goku saw himself. He blinked, he really was looking at himself. It was obvious he was sick, with the same heart disease that plagued him now. But what was this? The future? The past? An alternate present? Just then he felt an energy from behind, turning, he saw 17 and 18 land outside the door. Both walked calmly into the house. Goku gaped in surprise as they passed directly through him. This was a dream, he wasn't really there. That was strange, in any case.

They walked over to the Goku lying down, not paying attention to him. Goku circled around, trying to see what would happen. He saw 18's hand come up in a crook knife, then dive down with a terrifying speed. The Goku lying there screamed in agony, then lay still, his heart pierced.

Dream Goku didn't move. He felt numb. Suddenly the dream swirled around him and he was back on Kami's Lookout, and the pain had returned.

  
  


Piccolo watched from far above, in his usual position above Dai Kioshin's house. Goku wasn't doing incredibly well, and the heart disease was getting stronger every day. He was putting up an admirable fight, but this wasn't one that was possible to win. At least, it shouldn't have been.

But it would be done. Goku's determination was going to overcome all boundaries; nothing could stand in his way on the planet itself. Even Piccolo wasn't sure how far the determination could spread. Probably just past Evil, and not up to the Legendary One. But if Piccolo played this right, the Legendary One wouldn't be a problem.

The power of the heart disease was incredible, though, and Goku was losing. However, all he needed was one more thing to keep him going. Everything was going at least similar to the plan. Piccolo smiled, now it was just an amount of time. Things were still open, but they certainly could go well.

  
  


Dr. Gero sat down heavily and started ragged breathing. The three androids landed lightly around him and waited. He didn't look so well. 

"Every year my artificial body needs time to recharge," the doctor explained. "That year has passed now."

Android 17 grumbled and stood away with his arms folded. Android 16 sat down and turned himself off, his eyes snapped closed. Dr. Gero lay down and started breathing deeply. He opened one eye to glance at 17 and 18.

"Don't bother to attack me. If either of you even think about hurting me, the electricity will come on and you'll regret it. Do whatever for a few hours."

Lying back down, the doctor seemed to go into a deep sleep. 17 smirked slightly.

"He's obsolete already, I can't believe he needs to recharge."

"Like a battery," 18 added.

"In a toy," 17 finished. "We have a few hours, and we should use it to the fullest."

18 didn't question him. They were near equals in power, but 17 was generally considered to be the more skilled of the two, and a natural leader. Not that she cared. As long as she was destroying something at the time, she would be fine.

17 flew into the air, followed closely by his sister, then darted off in a random direction. Glancing around, 17 felt for any sort of power. He wanted more of a challenge instead of the usual humans that he had to fight. That wasn't ever any fun. Feeling something in the distance, he sped off toward it.

  
  


Mr. Popo landed the helicopter lightly on Kami's Lookout. He had left some time ago, but he wanted to come back, just one time. To see how things were, to lock everything up, maybe transplant a few flowers. It somehow just felt right to return here.

Glancing around, Mr. Popo began locking the doors on the Lookout one by one. He glanced around at the flowers he had planted, they still bloomed cheerfully. As he turned, he noticed something obviously amiss; a hand, gripping the edge of the lookout tightly.

Running over, Mr. Popo glanced down and was shocked to see Goku there. He was barely holding on to the edge of the lookout, his eyes squinted shut in pain. His other hand gripped his heart tightly. Shuddering in a profound pain of body and spirit, he twisted in incredible agony. Mr. Popo hissed angrily. This was the reason he had gone here, even if he hadn't known it.

Spitting in Goku's face, Mr. Popo checked which shoes he was wearing. Good, the cleated ones. Summoning all his strength, Mr. Popo came down on Goku's hand with full speed. The fingers, already weakened by the disease, let go and slipped. Goku, unable to control his ki, plummeted hundreds of feet to his sure doom.

Mr. Popo chuckled softly and turned back. He walked back to the helicopter, then suddenly heard a noise behind him. Whirling, he saw 17 and 18 standing atop Kami's Lookout. They were looking straight at him. 18 flew forward, and Mr. Popo suddenly found his arms pinned behind him.

18's eyes tightened slightly. There wasn't a trace of humanity left in them. Twisting just slightly, all the bones in both of Mr. Popo's arms shattered. He screamed in pain and tried to run, but 17 was in his way, and casually pushed him back to 18, who dealt a swift low kick that shattered the bones in his legs as well.

Biting back pain, Mr. Popo tried to self-destruct but found he couldn't. Then he felt 18's hands gripping his head and screamed one final time as she slowly bent his head to the side until his neck snapped. Smiling evilly, 18 tossed aside his broken form.

17 was already looking around Kami's Lookout. Just then he saw something resting on the ground, or more accurately, felt it there. Gesturing to follow, he floated down to whatever it was. His sister followed him, a ways behind.

A gigantic blast of energy flew upward, blasting 17 back up, barely missing his sister. Snarling, he dove back down at his attacker. Goku stood there, his hair flickered golden, faded the black, then slowly became golden again, nearly screaming in pain as he clutched his heart in one hand. The other hand came up and fired a blast that sent 17 flying again. 18 darted down to fight, but Goku's good arm slammed directly into her, sending her crashing through the ground.

They continued fighting, 18 gritting her teeth slightly. The disease was putting his power level down severely, but he was still just barely beating her. Taking a hard hook to the jaw, 18 fell and found she couldn't get up. Goku was looking down at her, energy crackling in one hand. Those eyes, opened just slightly now, held nothing of remorse in them. Still, he hesitated, not attacking.

Suddenly he went tumbling into a hill, destroying it. 17 stood there, smirking slightly. 

"Well, I guess that's the end of that," he muttered, dusting himself off. Just then, 18's sensitive ears caught the sound of something.

"Meeeeeeee-"

"Get back!" she yelled. 17 turned, but it was too late.

"HA!"

A giant beam sliced out from the hill, hitting 17 full in the front. When the beam faded, 17 was on the ground, looking battered and beaten. By this time, 18 managed to get back up. Goku was standing amidst the destroyed hill, suffering incredibly. He wasn't sure if he could keep fighting.

17 got up, barely, and they both attacked at the same time. Goku pushed himself further and fought back. Most of the damage failed to strike 18, however, as she stayed behind slightly, letting 17 take the force of the blows. Though Goku was fighting well, he would suddenly cry out in pain and fall to his knees as the pain intensified. Every time he did so the androids capitalized on it instantly.

It wasn't long before Goku lay on the ground, barely conscious. 17 was in bad shape from the battle. He started gathering energy in his hand. 18 knocked it down with her own.

"What now?" 17 grumbled, turning to her.

"I want to do it," 18 told him. 17 tried to protest, but he was severely weakened, while 18 was no longer in very bad shape. There was no question of who was in the higher position now. Not caring too much about it, 17 merely growled and flew back up to Kami's Lookout, before taking off entirely.

18 raised a hand, energy gathering to destroy this threat. The only threat left, she realized; with this gone, there was nothing to stop them from finishing the rest of the world. Hercule wasn't anywhere near the man Gero thought he was. In a second Goku would be gone.

Looking at him over her hand, 18 saw a face, still full of an odd sort of life, even beaten and bloodied. Even now, those wounds were healing up and disappearing, skin knitting, blood returning to veins. It would still take a long time to heal, but he was healing at a remarkable rate.

Dropping her hand, 18 fell to her knees. She couldn't do it. She just couldn't finish him. There was something about him, something that she liked. Why was she so weak? Why couldn't she destroy this threat, and finally attain the peace she and her brother had always wanted? Her emotional barrier was cracking slightly, despite its efficiency.

Goku shifted slightly, still alive. 18 sighed and glanced at him again. She wouldn't do it. It was beyond her. Bending down, she gathered Goku up in her arms and flew up to Kami's Lookout. 17 was nowhere to be seen, having already flown off. 18 landed and walked over, setting Goku down. Glancing into his face, she kissed him, a second, then flew off.

  
  


Piccolo smiled as Dai Kioshin fumed down below. Another point for him. Things had gone according to plan, if a bit different than he had expected. Goku was going to be all right now, unless Dai Kioshin pulled out another card. But Piccolo knew he didn't have any.

  
  


Goku, pain filling him with agony, still twisted on Kami's Lookout. But inside, drifting in a black world of energy that sucked the soul out of him, something had changed. He wasn't strong enough to fight both androids like this, he had lost. But 18 hadn't killed him. And now he had another chance. There was no way he'd let it go by.

  
  


The dream again. Goku glanced around, finding himself outside his house once more. The door was open, and he drifted through it, almost not of his own accord. Inside, he looked around, sure of what he'd find. Why were dreams so cruel? Why'd he have to see himself die again?

An energy was felt outside. He turned to see what it was, even though he knew. As the androids walked in, Goku tried to turn away, but found he couldn't. Ah, such was the cruel side of dreams. He watched as they stood over him, and he watched 18's hand come up.

It paused, hesitating. This time, the dream did not come to the same ending. There was a strange look on 18's face. Goku raised an eyebrow, now what had he started? He definitely had a chance. It wouldn't go by.

As 18 gathered speed and caught up to her brother, she should have felt better, but a deep sadness filled her. This wasn't over. Goku would recover, stronger then ever. He'd be practically invincible. She just flew, wind whipping through her hair. 

"Is he gone?" 17 asked, glancing at her.

"There's nothing there for us anymore."

How long would it be before he'd return, and they'd be killed? Her last view of life would be that face, with those oddly perfect eyes. What would it be like to be killed by Goku's hand?

  
  


The Kais all moved together in a solemn procession. They were wearing red, unusual for them. But today they were sacrificing their lives for those who needed them more than they did. One Kioshin strode with them, looking down his nose at the lesser Kais.

It took them only a few brief minutes for them to track down everyone they wanted. Soon, they had the group standing before them. Gohan, Vegita, Trunks, Tien, Krillin, Yamcha, Yajirobe and Chou-su stood in front of them, looking cocky. Piccolo stood off to the side, looking discouraged and down. Nine Kais faced them.

"Today," the Kioshin began, "we have learned that our plans are unraveling. The androids on Earth will destroy everything unless they are stopped. For this reason, we are willing to sacrifice our lives for yours. You are the only ones who can stop them. We have a way to return you to life. Will you accept?"

"Great!" Tien exclaimed. "We've been training so long! We have to be more than a match for them now!"

"That's right," Krillin agreed cheerfully.

"So will you go?" the Kioshin asked.

Everyone in the group nodded their consent. Piccolo alone shook his head.

"I'm no fool, Kioshin," he said softly. "I won't do this."

"Fine," the Kioshin snapped. "Then don't. These eight are smart enough to want life again."

Eight of the Kais kneeled, one in front of each warrior. Suddenly the Kais crumpled over and seemed to fold up, dead. The halos on each of the warriors suddenly gleamed, then flew over to rest on the heads of the eight Kais. They rose again, completely restored, and the halos stayed with them.

"So we aren't dead anymore?" Vegita asked. He noticed that all three saiyans' tails had grown back. Even Trunks grew a tail, though he hadn't had one before. In fact he felt exactly as he had been so long ago, he had somehow been restored. A few familiar and more recent scars were gone.

"No, you're not," the Kioshin agreed. "Now we'll send you back. I warn you though, because the androids have been rampaging around for just over two years, the world will be significantly changed. As long as you destroy the androids, you will retain your life."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever."

  
  


The androids gazed up at Kami's Lookout, the tallest building in the world. 17 had to wonder how they had constructed it, the huge thing above resting on such a tiny spot. He purposefully blocked out the one time that he had been there before. 16, unlike the other two, was unimpressed. He stepped up, and then karate chopped the side of the tower. The supports fell, and the entire thing tipped sideways. Gero hit it back, righting it, and the entire building began to fall.

Raising his hands, 17 vaporized the supports altogether. The dome part fell with a crash, showering everyone with rubble. Gero laughed maniacally.

"Well, well, well, Kami my old friend." Gero smirked. "It appears that you are dead now. You knew I'd kill all the Nameks, didn't you?"

The androids flew on to the next city on their imaginary and random list.

  
  


But if they would have looked at the rubble further, they would have noticed a body lying there, one entirely unhurt by all the rubble flying everywhere. The ground around him was clear, but he didn't stir. Goku lay unnaturally still, dancing with death.

At this point, Goku just wanted to die, to be gone and cease to exist. He didn't want the pain anymore, he was almost succumbing to the disease. Two years was a long time to be in such agony, and he was glad when he fell unconscious. When death came, he would greet it like an old friend. Then he could get away from all this.

His pain was many-fold. Everyone had left him, Gero was going to take over the world. His heart pained him greatly in two ways. Even when he was awake, his slanted eyes were closed bitterly. He understood the truth, but it was a bitter truth, not one that he wanted to be a part of. Suddenly the pain flared higher than ever before, as the disease was reaching its climax. Maybe now he could rest. Will nearly gone, he fell into a sleep; maybe he'd never wake up, that would be good...

Goku... a voice called. Goku looked around, seeing no one. He was standing on an endless plane of blackness, nothing shone, he was standing on something, but he could see nothing. 

Goku... the voice called again. Looking around suspiciously, Goku eventually glimpsed something coming toward him. Turning, Goku saw it come forward, slowly walking toward him. Maybe this was death, coming to take him away. Maybe he could rest.

"I am not death," Piccolo said. Goku's jaw dropped slightly before he recovered. Piccolo was standing before him, no longer using telepathy but speaking to him in a tangible way. They were less than an arms-length apart when Piccolo stopped. From his eyes, slanted eyes, out shone incredible pain and sorrow. It was almost as if he had suffered every minute with Goku.

"Hello Goku," he said simply. "It's very good to speak with you again."

"How are you here?" Goku asked, stunned.

"I am dead, Goku, and you almost are as well. You are on the very brink of death, so I can talk to you now."

"So why are you here? To usher me into the Afterlife?"

"Are you going to let this all go to waste?" Piccolo's eyes blazed, but it was a bitter blaze, "You've done so much, Goku, you've given this world a chance! Why are you so willing to die, all of a sudden? During the Vegita fight, you never gave up, even when he became an Oozaru! When Frieza reached his true power, and he seemed invincible, you continued fighting anyway! You never gave up, Goku! Why would you give up now?

"And do you know what happened? You won, Goku! Determination can overcome all boundaries. You learned the truth! Why would you let it die along with you? You are Earth's last hope, Goku, it needs you. I need you there, as my last word against Darkness."

Goku didn't know what to say; he turned away from Piccolo, thinking. Was it worth it? Could he actually beat this disease? Did he really want the life he would return to? He wasn't sure, unable to make a decision.

"Please, Goku." Piccolo's voice was softer now. "For the sake of friendship."

"Oh, Piccolo!" Goku's voice cracked as he turned to face his old friend. They embraced warmly for a second, then parted. But now Goku had shed the remains of the mental part of the disease. In a moment of friendship, he had finally come through and seen the truth. Now his own determination blazed again, an unquenchable fury.

"Fine!" Goku was happy now, "I can do this! I will live, and no heart disease can stop me!"

"Good job, kid!" Piccolo smiled, his eyes dancing happily even though his tough-guy attitude remained the same. "Do you realize what you've done? You've changed the world's fate, the universe's fate!"

The two old friends, now getting a bit calmer, clasped hands together and shook, firmly.

"I will always be your friend, Goku," Piccolo said. "Even to death and beyond. You may or may not see me again, but always remember me."

"I'm your friend too, Piccolo." Goku was smiling. "I will always be your friend."

They continued to clasp hands until Goku faded away, back to Kami's Lookout.

  
  


Waking up, Goku shook himself. For the first time in two years, he felt just fine. His heart was beating in perfect working condition, the disease's power was over. Goku grinned, got up and stretched. Good old Piccolo. Always there for him in a time of need. Piccolo had given him the determination to lick the disease, and he had done so with fantastic speed.

Bouncing around a little bit, Goku felt a lot better. The disease might have kept him from doing any training, but even so, with so many near-death experiences, his power level had gone through the roof! He felt great! Flying into the air, Goku raced off into a new day, into a new life. 

  
  


In the Afterlife, Piccolo leaped into the air, clearing twenty feet even in 10G gravity. He felt like bouncing around in excitement, but he was sensible enough not to. Still in a great mood, he almost hugged King Kai, but refrained from doing so.

"Why are you so happy?" King Kai asked, puzzled.

"You don't understand!" Piccolo grinned savagely. "I did it! I've changed the future of all of Earth, all of the galaxy! Instead of a destroyed, ended nothingness, we will have life! I have fought all of fate, all the Kais and Kioshins, Darkness itself and I won!"

The "I won" echoed all the way down Snake Way, all the way through the Afterlife. Dai Kioshin shook with rage as one Namek, one little, insignificant Namek, reveled in his ultimate victory over him. He didn't know why he was so happy, but the Namek must have known what the future would be, and now that future was fixed. Gritting his teeth, the Kioshin turned away, muttering "bah, humbug."


	16. Episode XV: Android Saga

Hercule was standing on a large stage, making a speech. Most of the population had gathered there to listen to him, to get some small amount of hope in a world where there seemed to be none. They shifted restlessly, nervous at being in such a large gathering in the open.

"Peoples of the Earth!" he announced. "These androids and the green one may be killing us, but we're not licked yet! You know that there are less then 200,000 people left on the planet, a mere fraction of a percent! Dr. Gero thinks he's got it, because he has the ace up his sleeve. But, my friends, we have the joker! I'll fight them, I am ready for them! When they try and fight me, they will be destroyed!"

"Oh really?" Floating above the bandstand, all four androids stood there, arms folded. The people screamed and ran, and the androids let them go.

"You are the strongest man in the world," Gero hissed, "and you've ran from me all this time. Ever since you destroyed Android 19, I've been wanting to kill you, but you've always gotten away. Now there is no escape!"

"Let him go, baldy," a voice came in from the side. All four androids jerked their head to the right, and they saw eight warriors looking at them.

"Who are you?" 17 asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I am Prince Vegita!" Vegita laughed. "This is my son, Trunks! That is Gohan, another saiyan and the rest are riff-raff from Earth."

Something in those names stirred something in 18. She remembered them, in Goku's personal files. Vegita was the one who had gone psycho and killed everyone. Gohan was his son, who left him, and Trunks was the saiyan from the future who had tried to kill him. The rest must have been his other acquaintances.

Gero growled at them, "17, take care of this scum. Then we can get back to the real battle with the strongest man on Earth." 

17 stepped forward, but 18 moved up as well.

"I'm doing this," she said firmly, pushing her brother to the side. She stepped up to where the warriors were. Now it was time to really be merciless. Her anger and frustration let itself out in the one way she knew how.

The humans all zoomed for her. 18 waited until they were very close to get moving. Moving faster than they could even see, she dropped Yajirobe and Yamcha. Chou-su grabbed her around the waist and self destructed, but the blast was useless. Trunks flew forward in a flying kick, but 18 grabbed his leg and flipped him into Gohan, who was charging. Vegita came flying for her head, but 18 ducked, grabbed his arm and slammed him into the short bald human, who died.

"Solar Flare!" Tien charged forward while 18 was blinded and landed a hit, right between the eyes. It did absolutely nothing. 18 recovered and kicked him on the chest, sending him flying entirely through a nearby building. Hercule at this time turned and tried to run away, but tripped and fell down the long set of stairs. 16 flew down and hoisted him back up again.

Only the three saiyans were left, watching her carefully.

"Now that the weaklings are gone," Trunks muttered, nodding to the others. Vegita threw a shining energy orb into the air. Everyone watched it fly up, either with curiosity or expectation. Suddenly a hideous transformation took place. All three saiyans transformed into Oozaru, their saiyan armor expanding to fit their new size.

"Oh, wow," 17 rolled his eyes. "You throw a ball up into the air and turn into giant monkeys. I'm so impressed and scared."

"We have ten times our former power level!" Trunks roared in a gigantic voice. 18 ignored him.

"Not really," 17 told him apathetically. "But I suppose it is a big increase."

"I liked Goku's little golden hair transformation better than this, don't you?" she asked, turning to her brother.

"It's definitely a lot less ugly," her brother agreed.

While they talked, Gohan flew forward, one giant fist first. It hit 18 from behind and did... just about nothing. 18 didn't even budge, and turned around to look at the giant monkey a second. Gohan grabbed her in one hand, laughing.

"You don't stand a chance against saiyan power!" he roared, a voice magnified far beyond anything his had ever been. 18 rolled her eyes, then held one arm forward. Dual blasts spiraled out from her hand, blazing through Gohan, ripping a hole in him and send him through a couple of buildings. 

"Where'd you learn that?" 17 asked.

"I got the idea from some green guy in the files; Special Beam Cannon or something."

"I like it." 17 smiled. "We can learn a lot from some guys."

"But not these weaklings." 18 turned back to them. "Did you know Goku?"

"Yeah, what of it?" Vegita roared, but he looked shaken.

"That's reason enough for me to destroy you. I'm surprised you were even honest about it."

"Don't talk about that weakling. He was always pathetic since he lost his tail. Since then he was forced to resort to weaker, flawed forms."

"Your form is also flawed." Her perfect, smooth voice showed no sign of the conflict within.

"There is no flaw in Oozaru form!" Vegita insisted, at least she thought it was Vegita.

"I'll show you it then." 18 almost smirked. In an instant, she flew forward and hit them both with an elbow to the jaw, then grabbed their tails. For a second incredible pain shot through both saiyans, who were immobilized. Twisting then pulling, 18 destroyed their tails completely, sending fire down their lengths. Trunks howled as the fire began to singe his fur. Before they were set on fire, both saiyans shrank down to a much smaller size, as their tails were gone.

A quick kick finished Vegita, and 18 launched a blast that staggered Trunks. 

"You killed my father, my entire world!!" he yelled, flying forward, sword sweeping downward to end 18's life. She raised one arm. The sword struck. The sword snapped in half and 18 launched a final blast that incinerated the young saiyan warrior.

Less than one minute had elapsed, but 18 had finished most of the strongest warriors ever to exist on Earth, who were already back in the Afterlife. The androids turned back to Hercule, who was shaking.

17 moved forward, and threw Hercule up into the air, ready to blast him to pieces.

"Stop." An authoritative voice said, soft but commanding. Everyone whirled around to look, including Hercule, who fell to the ground forgotten.

Goku stood watching them, his aura blazing with power.

  
  


Up in the Afterlife, Vegita and the others stumbled in again, looking weary and beaten. Piccolo was meditating intentionally near the entrance, he opened his eyes and looked at them, an ironic smile spreading across his green face.

"Back so soon?"

"Shut up," Vegita said wearily. Piccolo snickered and followed them as they headed back into the Afterlife. Vegita was going to love spending an eternity with him.

  
  


18 shrank back, fearful of what was to come. Goku had changed drastically from the warrior he had been before. While her sensors mainly measured unhidden power, she could sense a behemoth of ki around him, waiting to be utilized. Before, he had been superior to any of them. Now, she knew he could have crushed them all like ants. Even worse, she realized, he knew it.

  
  


Dai Kioshin looked on in horror. Failure? It didn't seem possible that the most powerful warriors he could quickly accumulate were defeated so easily. He lost little enough from it, a few expendable lives, but had he succeeded, his plans could have began again. Maybe it was time to forget the fighters from Earth. The Celestial Fighters had potential, maybe he should have used them. In fact, maybe he could...

Smiling, Dai Kioshin steepled his fingers and sat back. A loss, true, but nothing he couldn't recover from.

  
  


He looked around, glancing at everything slowly. His gaze went over the bodies of Tien, Chou-su, Yamcha, Yajirobe, lingered on Krillin, then moved on to Trunks. Passing over Trunks and Vegita carefully, his gaze hit on Gohan. Goku sank to his knees, tears glistening in his eyes. Everyone, blasted past death again, he had arrived too late. Seeing Gohan's ruptured body made the rage began to rise within him, but he suppressed it, needing control more than power.

"Someone's going to pay for this," he whispered forcefully, putting his head up, his hair turning golden as he became a Super Saiyan. Surprisingly silently, he charged. 

Curse you Gero, 18 thought, seeing her short life flash before her eyes, you got Goku mad and now he's going to kill us all! She closed her eyes and waited for her life to end, hoping Goku would make it quick. But to her surprise, no contact came, only a rush of wind as Goku flew past her. Whirling around, 18 saw Goku leap into the air in a flying kick. He made contact an instant later, hitting Dr. Gero's head dead on, the force of the blow knocked his head off. Changing direction, Goku stomped on it with one foot, then turned in one clean motion and fired an energy bolt at the body, which was staggering, mechanical bits hanging out. There was nothing left.

"It's over," Goku muttered to himself, "it's finally over."

Across the field, 16 dropped Hercule as if he didn't matter. The fundamental parts of his program were suddenly stripped away, he had no source to take commands from. One thing slowly burned its way through the mess of half-programming. Goku had killed the master. Goku needed to die.

Android 16 came zooming in, but Goku didn't even turn. 16 had been trying to tackle him into the ground, but Goku didn't even budge from staring at the remains of Gero. Feeling 16 hit his back, Goku flipped forward, pulling 16 with him. Goku drove one foot down into 16's back as they came in a full arc.

Leaping up, Android 16 charged at him again, but Goku held out a hand and gripped 16 in a choke hold. 16 hit him across the jaw as hard as he could, but Goku's head merely jerked back, unharmed. Grabbing him in a headlock, Goku flew high up into the air. With a yell, he brought 16 down to the ground in a mortal power bomb, one that proved to be the end of the android.

A ball of energy floated where the android had been. Goku dropped out of Super Saiyan, then pulled out a capsule and absorbed the energy into it, then turned back to the remaining androids. He was about to say something, when a green monster smashed into the ground behind them. Whipping his tail around, Cell knocked both 17 and 18 into the air and through surrounding buildings.

"You're very strong," Cell hissed at Goku, "you will make an excellent meal."

Leaping forward, Cell attacked with an uncoordinated flurry of punches. Goku blocked them all, then dealt Cell a hard kick that sent him flying backwards. Cell came diving back, but Goku launched an uppercut before Cell could attack that knocked him away.

"Solar Flare!" Goku stumbled back blindly, and Cell blasted him backward with a fully charged ki blast. Blinking and regaining his balance, Goku was punched again, then kicked from behind. Rolling as he met the ground, Goku kicked Cell hard in the face, then punched him hard in the stomach. Cell went flying backward and crashing into a building. Coming back swiftly, Cell launched a punch that made Goku fall back, but the saiyan turned the fall into a flip and slammed Cell in the chin with both feet.

"Solar Flare!" This time Goku said the words. Cell stumbled backward and Goku started hitting him in a swift succession of devastating moves. Eventually Cell recovered and lashed his tail, knocking Goku into a building. Even while crashing through metal, Goku began charging, then landed in a Kamehameha position.

"Kaaa-meee-haaa-"

Cell attacked Goku before he finished charging. Goku launched all his energy wildly, catching Cell full in the face, making him fall back. Wincing, Cell got to his feet slowly, seriously hurt.

"You are a bit too strong as I am now," he admitted, "but you're still no match for me!"

In the corner of his eye, Goku noticed both of the androids had left. Cell seemed to notice the same thing and his eyes narrowed. Leaping into the air, Cell seemed ready to attack, but before Goku could respond he flew off away from him. Gritting his teeth, Goku launched himself in the air and followed.

Looking back, Cell realized the saiyan was gaining on him. His head start had been big, but not as much as he would have liked. Glancing around, Cell thought as quickly as he could. While he had been distracted with the cursed saiyan, the androids had gotten away. Not after all these years of chasing them! Cell put on a new burst of speed.

There weren't many places they would go for refuge, out of the few options open to them. Then, Cell slowly smiled, as he thought of the one place they would go. Arcing to the side he moved toward Gero's lab. It was the only location they hadn't destroyed, the place their memories would originate, so they would have gone there. Perfect.

  
  


Deep underneath the lab, the ancient computer sat, unmoving and long since dead. Water slowly dripped from the ceiling, and the air seemed musty and undisturbed for years. Until now. A portal opened in one of the walls, and a form stepped out. Glancing around, it opened one hand and blasted the area around it to bits. Securing the portal in open position, it flew through the ceiling and into the sky.


	17. Episode XVI: Cell Saga

17 was standing below him, Cell licked his lips and smiled from his position high above. He had found only one of the androids, but it would do for now. His energy was low, and it appeared the saiyan was a lot stronger than he expected. One would do just fine.

Landing in front of him with full force, sending rock showering everywhere, Cell enjoyed the look on 17's face. Both of them jerked their heads to the side as they felt Goku flying in from the side. Cursing his luck, Cell prepared to try and absorb 17 before Goku arrived, but then fate intervened.

Three blurs of motion shot out from the mountainside, two catching Cell and propelling him into the opposing rockface. The third was aimed for Goku, who barely ducked out of the way. Whirling, Cell dislodged both of his attackers and dived for 17 once again. Seeing him, the android struck the cliff behind him, sending a veritable avalanche down on Cell. He deflected the rocks easily, but 17 had already escaped into the lab.

Before he could follow, Cell found his way blocked by what appeared to be two humans.

"Out of my way!" he hissed. "Do you want to die?"

"I'd ask the same thing of you," the first form said in a toneless voice. The two made a stark contrast, the first sticking out as a dark black, while the other was nearly unnoticeable. Wearing a white gi over pale skin and pure white hair, he seemed to blend into the background if Cell didn't keep his eyes on him.

"Fools! I can't even feel your kis, you're so weak!"

"Perhaps that's because we're androids," the dark one said, smirking.

"This is my partner, #22," the first intoned. "I am 00. We cannot allow you to harm 17."

"Don't bite off more than you can chew, small fry," Cell hissed, firing a ki blast at both of them. 22 was catapulted backward, and 00 just barely wove out of the way. Before either of them could react further, Cell leaped forward and hammered them both with a double kick. Android 22 went flying, slamming into a rock face. Following up with a punch, Cell failed to realize that 00 was still mobile and received a series of biting kicks from the side. Righting himself, he off the side of the rock face, driving 00 back and getting away from the recovering 22.

Getting to his feet and hurling 00 away, Cell faced off with both of them again, and slowly smirked.

Righting himself in the air, Goku turned to face his attacker, who slowly turned to gaze emotionlessly at him. Again his opponent charged, but Goku blocked the kick with his foot and caught his hand. Before he could go further Goku slammed his head forward into his opponent's chest, sending the android, whoever he was, falling to the ground. Catching himself, the android leaped up at him again.

Avoiding the attack, Goku used Instant Transmission instead of attacking further. Disoriented, his opponent fired ki blasts randomly where he felt Goku's ki but Goku merely continued teleporting. Whipping a hand through the air, Goku hit the android from behind with a slicing energy attack.

Slowly flying up to Goku's level again, his opponent glanced up at him and smiled cruelly, brushing aside long black hair.

"I'm impressed. I can't find you in my programming anywhere. Who are you?"

"Programming? Most of the androids were built to destroy me personally, how can't you know me?"

"Built?" His opponent's smile widened. "I was never built."

"What do you mean?"

"Stop being evasive! Who are you?"

"My name is Goku. What about you?"

"Android 23. Now that we've exchanged pleasantries, let's get down to business."

Goku realized he had been shortsighted as 23 launched a massive wave of ki his way; ki that he had apparently been charging while they spoke. Bracing himself he concentrated and forced it to flow around him instead of striking him. Then he hurled himself forward, slamming 23 with his shoulder.

23 attempted to hit him, but Goku caught his hand and swung him around, hurling 23 downward. Dust exploded up from the point of contact, and Goku looked down carefully. Deep below, obscured by dust, 23 charged an attack and then launched it directly upward. Smirking, he looked carefully for the charred heap of his opponent. For one instant he felt the ki that was behind him, and then a foot hit him from behind, sending him further away. Flying uncontrolled through the air, he fell victim to another of Goku's punches and then hit the ground, collapsing.

Watching around him carefully, Cell waited for both his opponents to attack. In a coordinated attack, 00 attacked from the front and 22 flew toward him from behind. Cell deflected 00's fists with his own, and his tail flashed dangerously, forcing 22 to call off his attack. Only momentarily put off, 22 attacked him again, only to have his blows fended off by the flashing tail.

Though they weren't strong enough to beat him, Cell knew he was tired from his fight with Goku. Whirling, he smacked 00 directly with his tail and deflected 22's attacks. Suddenly alone, 22 launched an energy burst directly at his opponent, who promptly wasn't there. A metallic flash struck him from behind.

When 00 made his way back to the fight, he saw Cell draining 22 from existence. Gritting his teeth, 00 charged, but realized he was far too late. Now revitalized, Cell batted him aside, sending him crashing down into the hills below.

Before Goku could end the fight, 23 charged. For a brief instant Goku was puzzled, as it would be a poor attack, until he realized his opponent was actually attempting to reach the other battle. At the same time, 00 launched a massive energy beam toward Cell. The attack did little damage, but while Cell was distracted, 00 leaped to the armor of the fallen 22. It lifted off the ground and seemed to fuse into him, and 00's skin glowed with a brilliant light. His clothes suddenly shifted to a dark blue, and Goku felt the energy around him rise significantly.

"I am now Ultimate 00!" the android said, his voice seemingly louder than it should have been. "You fools cannot defeat me!"

Cell immediately launched hundreds of ki blasts toward him. Ultimate 00 easily avoided them, coming closer and closer and then slamming Cell backward. Hitting the rock face and falling, Cell barely managed to avoid having his head crushed by 00's stomp.

None of this registered to Goku, however, who had other things on his mind at the moment. 23 bent down beside what remained of 22 and touched him, and then energy began to flow between them. The point where his fingers touched grew brighter and brighter, and energy flew up 23's arm. His long black hair shimmered, and his frontmost locks became solid silver.

"Such power," he chuckled softly, then looked up and realized Goku had not merely been watching. Directly above him, Goku slammed his fists into the back of 23's head, knocking him into the ground. The area around seemed to rumble and a second later 23 shot out of the rock, blasting rubble all around him. Spinning rapidly, he arced nearer Goku, who skimmed backward to avoid the attack.

Gathering energy over his head, 23 hurled it down. Goku deflected the attack to the side then slid forward. Barely moving his elbow down in time, 23 blocked the attack, then attacked more ferociously than before, pressing Goku to defend.

Across the battlefield, Cell fired a Special Beam Cannon, which 00 promptly jumped over, delivering a solid kick to his chin. Catching himself, Cell knocked 00 backward briefly, but then both massive arms caught him from both sides and crushed him against the massive android in a deadly bear hug.

Blasting energy around himself, Cell knocked the android away, giving him some desperately needed breathing room. 00 chuckled tonelessly. Behind him, Cell noticed Goku knuckle 23 hard enough to blast him away, then fire an attack toward both of them. Rolling to the side, Cell left a bemused 00 to be blasted full on by the massive blast. Both androids flew into the air and righted themselves, not yet coming back.

Goku and Cell glanced at each other suspiciously.

"A temporary truce?" Cell asked, glaring at the saiyan before him. Goku's eyes tightened, but he nodded.

"Until we end this android threat. Then I have something to settle with you."

"Right. Whatever." Cell turned to face the oncoming androids.

Firing together, Cell and Goku launched a gigantic Kamehameha that overcame both androids, blasting them backward. Leaping forward before Cell could, Goku kicked 23 again, but his second kick was blocked. From beside Goku, 00 launched a haymaker into his jaw. Cell chose that moment to come in, knocking 00 away and using his foot to kick 23 further downward. An energy blast came in response from the android, and it stunned Cell a second, allowing 00 to hammer him downward.

Hitting the ground, Cell looked up at 00, whose foot was coming down toward him. Goku fired energy from the side, knocking him off course, then flew at 23, who barely avoided the attacks coming his way. Attacking a disoriented 00, Cell sliced a nasty gash across his chest with his tail. Falling back, 00 grimaced as Cell smirked, watching him.

Flying to the side, Goku avoided another of 23's attacks, then responded with one effectively placed kick that sent him backward. Unable to stabilize in time, 23 was blasted by another attack. Generating energy, 23 launched a massive ball of ki toward Goku, who barely caught the attack against himself in time. Keeping it from incinerating him, Goku slowly pushed the attack away and then back on 23, who fell back and lay still.

Cell's cocky grin slowly faded as 00 gasped in pain and then gritted his teeth. Slowly the gash in his chest closed together and became whole once again, then 00 smirked at him.

"I am the Ultimate Android!" 00 hissed. "Did you re-"

He cut off abruptly as Goku's fist came down on him hard from behind and he collapsed. Running forward, Cell sliced briefly, ending whatever life remained within him. For a brief time, both of them just stood there, breathing heavily after the fight.

"You know," Goku panted, "you did a pretty good job there!"

"Yeah, you too." Cell smiled cruelly and held both his hands up. "Solar Flare!"

Grabbing his eyes in pain, Goku stumbled backward. Cell laughed and flew off once again toward the lab. A brief while later Goku blinked the lines from his eyes, flew into the air and followed in hot pursuit.

  
  


Racing over the ground, Cell quickly turned on his inward sensors and tried to find either of the original androids. Far too much time had been wasted fighting these new androids. He hadn't thought he had a way to get around Goku, but for now he had the advantage. His window of opportunity was too small for his taste, however.

At last getting a reading, he flew toward the site. It was 17 again, but that was fine with him. Either one worked, as long as he could do it soon. Arriving directly over the location, Cell looked around for the android and failed to see anyone. Now what was going on? In frustration, Cell dived directly downward and hoped that there was part of the lab beneath him or something.

Rock and meter splintered by him as he dove through the ground and unexpectedly broke through in a larger cavern than he knew existed. What immediately caught his attention was 17, who was standing beside a bluish portal, looking curiously at it. 17 immediately fired a blast his way, but Cell merely deflected it off to the side. As he attacked, Cell was knocked off course by someone who leaped from the shadows. Throwing him off, Cell angrily poured a massive amount of energy into an attack that blasted whoever this new fighter was away.

17 attempted to attack him and Cell easily evaded his punch and then backhanded him with just enough electrical power to knock him out. Raising his tail to absorb him, Cell was surprised as a hand suddenly reached out from the portal and grabbed his tail, then an attack blasted him backward, sending him into the wall nearby. Deciding not to get up, Cell watched the portal carefully.

A female form stepped through shortly and glanced around. She turned to glance upward, where the android Cell had blasted returned to the ground, landing softly. His clothing was a bizarre combination of purple and red, his hair a startling green.

"24, report," she said simply, brushing back brown hair. The android nodded.

"As far as I know, Unit 17 is still secure. Cell is in the area and still at large. There appears to be a saiyan in the area, with some power."

"Why hasn't this been taken care of?"

"00, 23 and 22 have all been destroyed. I could not discover by whom."

Gathering energy, Cell launched a Kamehameha at them. 24 was hit dead on and blasted into the sky, but the other android jumped from the blast, barely avoiding the edge of it. Stalling for time, Cell smirked at her.

"Well, who could this be?"

She turned to him, eyes narrowed. "Android 21. I'm the leader of this expedition here. You will have to be destroyed immediately."

"Well," Cell smirked, then leaped forward, slamming the portal closed. "What do you think of that?"

21 responded by launching a haymaker into his jaw, sending him flying backward, crashing through support beams above. Coming out over ground level, Cell launched an attack that demolished the lab area below. His head jerked forward from a kick from the returning 24, who attacked again, forcing Cell to retreat. Before Cell could attack again, 24's hand morphed into a boomerang like weapon, which he hurled at Cell.

Ducking, Cell slid forward in the air, knocking 24 down a bit. The android evaded his follow up attack and leaped into the air, catching his hand when it circled around. As they fought, the pile of rubble behind them cracked and split open, and 21 flew out easily, setting down the unconscious 17. Flying into the fray, 21 attack with a vicious series of blows. Now seriously out-manned, Cell began to go on the defensive, just trying to stay away from them. He was still weakened from his last fight, but both of them were fresh.

  
  


The white body of 00 lay still, not sensing the energy that blasted near by it. It was just as oblivious as a shadowed figure walked over to it and bent down. A flash of silver lit the arena for its unseeing eyes and then 00 faded from existence. Turning, the form flew off.

  
  


Considering strategy, Cell took his mind off the fight for a brief instant, and 21 hit him, throwing him off balance. 24 took advantage of his weakness by landing a haymaker on him, one that sent him down. Getting to his feet, Cell looked up in time to have both of 24's boomerang hands hit him, driving him backward. Flying alongside him, 21 launched a series of punches he couldn't avoid, dealing some heavy damage. Catching himself with one foot on the ground, Cell pivoted, sending 21 flying as his foot crashed into her face.

Leaping into the air, he barely avoided 24's dive to where he had been moments before. Hovering, Cell turned to face both of them, hoping they'd give him some breathing room before they attacked again. No such luck. 21 charged instantly, but before she covered half the distance she suddenly seemed to alter course and crashed into the rocks below. The next instant Cell realized that Goku had kicked her and was once again on the field.

For a brief instant Goku looked directly at Cell, his gaze piercing him to the core, but then he turned and attacked a startled 24. The android dodged and wove, but soon made an error and was sent catapulting backward. Getting up, he smirked at Goku.

"So you're the saiyan who's been meddling in our affairs. Well, I think it's time I end that."

Attacking, 24's cocky grin slowly faded as Goku easily fielded every one of his strikes, then grabbed his wrist on one punch. Pushing him backward, Goku let 24 fall briefly before flying behind him and delivering a solid kick. 21 was back in the action and flew in from the side, sending him spinning, but he righted himself and avoided her next attack.

Trying to fly back into the action, 24 was intercepted by Cell, who kicked him to the side and followed up with a blast. As they fought each other, Goku squared off with 21. Spinning rapidly, she kicked at him repeatedly, but somehow he remained untouched and launched a blast directly at her face.

Tumbling back, 21 launched a blast his way, which he deflected. Charging forward, both of them clashed together, then fell toward the Earth. Twisting in flight, Goku grabbed her hair and used it to catapult her into the nearby rocks. Shaking herself, 21 attacked again, only to find Goku behind her. Barely blocking his kick, she turned and the battle began again.

Getting a brief break, Goku surprised 21 by flying directly backward, crashing into 24. Left without an attack to counter, she was surprised long enough for Goku to smash 24 into a cliff face. Having a bit of breathing room, Cell deflected the energy attack she launched at them and then attacked in a series of deadly tail strikes that forced 21 slowly back.

Leaping, 24 fired one of his hands once more. Goku ducked backward, the whirling blade nearly touching his face. Taken by surprise, Goku didn't counter, but instead deflected the next energy shot 24 sent his way. The boomerang arced around, hewed through solid rock and returned to 24, who caught it. Pulling himself together, Goku charged and kicked 24 directly, knocking him back, perfectly vulnerable for a knife hand that dropped him to the ground.

Transforming both his hands, 24 fired them at Goku. This time the saiyan was more prepared for the attack and caught both blades between his fingers. 24 gasped, and then screamed as Goku snapped both of the blades. Unable to concentrate, the android failed to notice Goku dive into the ground. An energy blast burst up from beneath 24, frying the android to a blackened crisp. From the tunnel beneath him, Goku floated up and then flew to the 21 battle.

Launching a wild energy attack, Cell forced Goku to dodge to avoid it. While both of them were distracted, he dived away from them, toward the fallen 17. Sensing danger, though not realizing the reason, Goku attempted to get in his way, but 21 took the opportunity to slam him from the side, sending him tumbling. Cell landed beside 17. His tail expanded into a giant suction tube and 17 was sucked inside. There was a brilliant flash of light and Cell changed, becoming uglier than ever. He gained a few inches, and the two prongs on his head tightened and got closer to his head. Morphing, his face changed and gained fat, blubbery lips.

Charging at Goku, he slammed him into the cliff face again, where Goku got an excellent view of another transformation. 21 ripped off her outer brown cloak and energy collected around her. Cell attacked, but without warning green flames engulfed her, sending Cell reeling back.

"You fool, I have reached my semi-perfect form, you stand no chance!" Cell mocked. 21 smirked.

"I don't believe you understand the sort of power I possess."

"You speak well, but how well do you fight?"

As both powered up fighters charged and attacked each other, Goku got up and dusted himself off. Both attacks in succession had been painful, but they were ignoring him now, so he had a bit of time to recover. In the meantime, Cell stabbed with his tail and was shocked when the android grabbed it and then returned with a painful kick to the side of the head.

Jumping back and ripping his tail out of her hands, Cell was prepared as she flew directly behind him. Pivoting, he fired an energy blast that hit her directly, and responded with a dual kick. For an instant he couldn't find his opponent anywhere, and then a series of spinning kicks to the back of his head made that all very clear. He fell to the ground, allowing her to follow after him, then launched a beam up, blasting her away.

Following up his attack, he was surprised to see her mostly recovered and ready for him. Her fist sent him flying back down the way he had came. Hitting the ground with surprising force, Cell got to his feet, but not quickly enough. 21's foot crushed down on his back, and Cell gasped in pain.

Flying from the side, Goku delivered a flying kick to Android 21, who had been oblivious to his presence. Reaching down, Goku helped Cell back up, his eyes searching.

"Truce?"

"Fine." Cell muttered, watching as 21 attacked once again. Both of them sped out of the way in opposite directions. Flipping backward, Goku knocked 21 off balance, leaving Cell time to plow into her from the side. Staggering, 21 gained her balance in time to avoid both their next attacks. Leaping away from the combat, 21 fired a constant stream of energy blasts toward them.

Dodging them easily, Goku waited until he sensed 21 was starting to overheat. Cell was clipped by one blast and several more drove him into a pile of rubble. Using Instant Transmission, Goku got behind 21 and got off a perfect haymaker. Falling forward and turning, 21 lunged at him.

Barely avoiding the shot, Goku used her own momentum to hurl her onward, then as she turned and came back at him, hit her directly with a roundhouse kick. Diving toward her, Goku got off one punch, but she blocked his second and then her elbow sent him crashing into the ground. A beam sliced in from the side and 21 fell off course again. Cell emerged from the rubble, now looking ticked off. Momentarily distracted, 21 fell victim to Goku's next attack.

Falling back, 21 took a hard hit from Cell and catapulted into the air again. Unable to slow her momentum, she flew directly toward Goku, who kicked her again, slamming her into the ground. Getting up and flying backward, the android faced off with both of them, now barely standing.

Smirking, Cell began to gather energy.

"You were a fool to try and fight us," he hissed mockingly, folding his hands into the well known Kamehameha position.

"Who are you?" 21 gasped, looking at both of them.

"I am the ultimate creation of Dr. Gero!" Cell laughed, slowing his charging a brief moment, reveling in victory. "I was created using the cells of all the greatest warriors the galaxy has seen. This alone makes me far stronger than you or any other fool!"

"I didn't know that," Goku murmured, but Cell heard him.

"I have your gene's too, saiyan," Cell spat. "Consider it an honor. But I have surpassed all of you; I contain all your power and know all of your techniques! Once I absorb 18, I will be complete and nothing will stop me!"

"You have potential, you don't have to use it for evil," Goku argued, then broke off as he sensed what 21 was doing. She had been slowly gathering ki the entire conversation, preparing for something.

"Cell, do something now!" he yelled. Hearing him, 21 sensed she had been found out and the green aura returned around her again. Cell's Kamehameha flew harmlessly off into space as she moved out of the way and hurled a gigantic lavender ball of ki. Diving to the side, Goku avoided the blast, but Cell wasn't so lucky. It hit him head on, plowing him off into the horizon, where his fall caused a cloud of dust.

Distracted, Goku was hit from the side by a blow from 21. Whipping his hand down he grabbed her fist and pulled her along with him as they both plowed through the air and crashed into the nearby mountain. Rolling away from each other, they found themselves in a relatively sheltered valley. Charging, 21 nearly made contact with another punch, and then spun around to try again, only to have Goku catch her punch.

Wrenching her hand from his grasp, 21 flew back and the green aura appeared around her once again. Smiling, Goku clenched a fist and his hair arced into the air, stiffening and becoming golden. 21's mouth dropped as his power skyrocketed and golden flames surrounded him.

Leaping forward in attack, 21 was easily deflected, but as their aura's clashed, both seemed to become fused together, the energies crashing against each other. Goku's golden flames licked toward her green ones and consumed them with startling speed. There was a brilliant flash and 21 found herself propelled back, without energy. For an instant her eyes flickered green, and then faded lifelessly.

Powering down, Goku smiled briefly and stretched. It was apparent he still had all his Super Saiyan ability with him. For now, however, it probably wouldn't be necessary. Shrugging off weariness from the battle, Goku lifted into the air and flew from the rocky area, toward where Cell had been.


	18. Episode XVII: Cell Saga

A swift black form darted from the body of 24 and toward the rocks as well, sliding through the cracks in the rocks and finding the fallen 21. Bending over silently, the figure reached down a hand, sending energy clashing and cascading oddly off the rocks. A short while later a silver blast shot up from the rocks, and then it expanded, reducing the rocky area around to dust. Without ceasing motion, the figure blasted off toward the two kis on the horizon.

  
  


Finding the ki beneath him, Goku grabbed the nearest boulder and hurled it off. Moving through the rubble, he gradually worked his way closer to where Cell appeared to be. Eventually finding the green monster, stunned but not significantly harmed, Goku helped him to his feet.

"We still have a score to settle," Goku told him, "but for now, I think we have a bigger problem on our hands." 

Turning to look down at the lab doors below, Goku sighed. "I wonder what other horrors Gero has in store for us down there?"

His sad expression in his eyes widened to a mixture of shock and pain as he felt Cell's tail stab through him. Falling down swiftly, Goku hit the dust far below. Smirking and thanking himself that Goku was a trusting fool, Cell gazed around the area briefly and saw nothing, but just then the horizon lit up silver.

Cell glimpsed a small black form charging toward him before the silver energy bit into him, propelling him backward. Goku was barely out of the fight and already another fighter was here? Grimacing, Cell fired a series of energy blasts, which the figure calmly batted aside. When the energy cleared, Cell got a better view.

Android 23 looked at both him and Goku's body coldly, then attacked once again. Narrowly avoiding his fist, Cell was caught by the end of his hair, now a pure silver, which tightened around him. Being whipped around by the strand of hair, Cell plummeted toward the ground. Making it to his feet, he glanced up, impressed.

"How did you survive? And how did you get so powerful?"

As if in answer to his question, 23 seemed to glide forward, but delivered a kick with such speed that Cell found himself defenseless. Hitting a rock face, Cell bounded off it and clipped 23 on the side of the face, sending him whirling as well. They faced off in the air.

  
  


Below them, unnoticed, Goku slowly crawled, making his way inch by inch to his destination. Reaching the edge of a rock face, he merely fell over the side, then returned to his slow, painful crawl. The lab doors stood open, from all who had flown through them, and it was through them that Goku crawled.

Gripping a computer face, Goku climbed up to his knees. Gasping he collapsed against it, and seemed to lose consciousness. The blood that dripped from his chest fell slower, and then suddenly the next drop was a pure golden color. His eyes unseeing but glowing a solid gold, Goku moved on, pulling strength from some unknown source.

At the computer, Goku typed a few keys, not even glancing at what he was doing. His hands moved seemingly of their own accord as his subconscious took over. Unable to take any more strain, his eyes faded and he dropped to the ground.

  
  


Firing his Kamehameha, Cell found his beam slicing down 23's, who's face sweated as he attempted to push it back. Blasted backward, 23 was unable to defend himself against Cell's onslaught, ending with a bashing move that sent him plummeting into the ground. As Cell flew down to finish him off, he was caught off guard by a beam that flashed out from the hole 23 was buried in.

Momentarily off balance, Cell opened his eyes again to see 23 get up, unharmed.

"How is that possible?" he gasped. "That should have finished you off!"

23 merely smirked. "You overestimate your own strength."

Attacking again, 23 struck at Cell faster than he was capable of defending against. Failing to deflect one punch, Cell was blasted backward and into the side of a cliff, where 23 pounded on him repeatedly. Lashing with his tail, Cell made a nasty gash on 23's face and knocked him backward.

Remaining on his feet, 23 smiled as tiny nano-probes moved into the cut on his cheek, repairing it. Within seconds, he was whole once again. Cell gaped, and fired a large energy orb, but 23 merely deflected it out of the way, then stepped back, charging up.

"I should be stronger than you!" Cell roared. "How can this be?"

"Idiot." 23's voice was patronizing, even as he powered up. "I simply allowed you to believe you were winning. It's one of the oldest tricks in my subroutines, and I'm not impressed you fell for it."

Firing a shot, 23 unleashed the energy that he had been charging up. Cell put up a shield and was surprised as the energy blast splattered off without doing any real damage. The next instant, one instant too late, he realized the true nature of the attack as 23 dove forward, surrounded by energy, and pierced his shield, driving Cell backward.

Catching a hold of his tail, 23 ripped it from its socket and vaporized it. Smirking, Cell instantly regrew it, and sliced toward the android just as 23 fired a blast at him; they both struck, then flew backward and rammed into the ground opposite each other. Both got up and grimaced at the other before attacking once again.

  
  


Mechanical claws reached down and gripped Goku's fallen body, lifting him into the air. Following the program he had inputted into them, they carried him to the other part of the lab. With a few small clinks, the machinery began its unknown work. For quite some time it continued to tinker as the battle above raged on between the two fighters.

A mass of wires and cords was lowered down toward Goku's limp form, and suddenly his hand snapped up, grabbing the mass in the center. Goku's golden glowing eyes had returned. The metal seemed to snake away, slowly disappearing. His hand fell, and Goku opened his eyes.

For a second he was disoriented, trying to remember what had happened. He felt incredibly dizzy, and his body seemed to churn with something horrible. After a moment of feeling sick, he could concentrate once again. It all came back to him in a rush, making his way to the lab, using skills he knew he didn't have to implement this program. Something, whatever it was, had awakened inside him, and now the program had done exactly what he had hoped it would. Already he felt the metal inside him reorganizing. Thinking about it now made his head hurt, he wasn't quite sure what he had done.

Glancing down at himself, Goku realized his wound was healed completely. Somehow, completely impossibly, from what he knew, he was absorbing the metal into himself. What was going on here? Shaking his head, Goku swung his legs over the side of the table he was sitting on, allowing his body to reorder itself. Slowly, the sick feeling was subsiding. This was strange in the extreme. 

Whatever happened, he was grateful it had worked. What had possessed him to try and fuse technology into himself? It should never have worked, but somehow, it had. Regardless of what he had done, it had taken the last of the lab's energy to do, so the machinery lay lifeless. Why would that have happened? Flexing his hand, Goku dropped to his feet and smiled slightly. Paradoxes could wait. He had a job to do.

  
  


Being slammed into a stone wall, Cell kicked 23 off him, but the android merely flipped back from the hit and struck him with a knife hand to the neck. Collapsing, Cell barely jumped in time to avoid 23's next kick. For a few seconds it seemed like he could win, as he attacked with such ferocity that 23 was forced only to defend. The next instant reality struck in as 23's palm slipped past his own and hammered him in the chest, sending him falling backward. Cell looked up with dread in his eyes.

From the side a dark purple flare of energy blasted 23 away, and Cell turned toward the source, only to see Goku standing there, looking completely rejuvenated. 

"Goku, you've returned!" Cell smiled at him. The smile quickly faded when Goku turned and looked at him coldly.

"I've had enough of you," was all he said. Then 23 flew at him again. Goku ducked the punch and launched an upward kick that sent him reeling. Cell took this opportunity to slam into him again, but Goku fired a blast that sent him into the ground with 23. Both got up and fired at Goku, who deflected the shots, but 23 also kicked sideways, knocking Cell away from him. All three faced each other briefly, then fell into a confusing mass of flying arms and legs.

Emerging a short time later, all glanced at the other two. Before any of them attacked again, Goku threw back his head and energy flowed around him. His hair became golden and stuck upward. As his head came down to face them again, his face had a slight smirk.

"So what?" 23 asked. "You got a cameo change. Big deal."

The next thing any of them knew, Goku slammed into 23, knocking him back, where he fell to an uppercut. Flying into the air, 23 glanced up in shock to see Goku above him, firing. Bashed into the ground, 23 leaped up to fight him again, but Goku avoided the punch and kicked him further. Righting himself in the air, 23 looked around and failed to find Goku until the saiyan slammed him from behind.

As he fell, 23 suddenly saw Goku beside him for one brief instant, then the energy blast flew into him, sending him down into a heap. Goku landed beside him a short while later, unharmed.

"I like cameo changes."

Cell gritted his teeth. "He was weak. You can't fight me!"

Holding out a hand, Goku stared at him silently. Just as it began to unnerve Cell, he saw what his opponent was doing. Goku's fingers seemed to split into multiple metallic cords that whipped forward and wrapped around Cell's limbs. Immobilized, Cell could only struggle as Goku flew forward kicked him in the head, then lashed the cords back, jerking him violently.

Regaining his balance, Cell took another hard punch. Slicing with his tail, Cell was surprised to see Goku kick and knock the tail away, then extend his arm. The fingers again changed, becoming claws, and they raked across Cell. He fell backward.

If not for the four scratches across his chest, Cell wouldn't have believe it had happened. Goku had changed somehow. This golden transformation increased his power to far greater than his, but now he was also using abilities that he had no right to have. Before he could figure out what was going on, Cell saw 23 rise from the rubble.

The blast that launched from 23's hands narrowly grazed Goku, who dodged to the side a second too late. Cell avoided the blast and took the opportunity to slam Goku into the ground. Before he could attack him further, Goku vanished from beneath him and Cell was left positioned over the ground. He looked up in time to see Goku's foot move toward him. The kick to his face flipped him entirely over, where he landed hard, sending shock waves across the ground.

23 tried to crush him further, but Cell rolled out of the way. Goku attacked 23, who deflected his strike, sending him off again, but Cell kicked him while he was turned. All three flew away from the others briefly, then 23 made the first move, holding a hand toward both of them and launching a multitude of blasts. Cell powered up and sent his force field around himself, sending the blasts backward, where 23 barely deflected them. Dodging from side to side, Goku was also untouched.

Firing a blast, Goku knocked 23 away, and by chance out of Cell's blast. Flying to the side, Goku rammed Cell, who pushed off the ground and kicked him away. Turning in midair, Goku slammed him away, then hit the ground, flying into the air instantly to avoid 23's blast. Catching Cell's punch, Goku fought with him briefly, parting only when 23's tried to hit both of them.

Above them, 23 had gathered a significant amount of energy, and now he launched part of it, in a red, blazing sphere of energy. Cell dodged out of the way, but the blast curved in the air and struck him. When 23 launched the next blast, Goku was ready for its homing effects. Ducking under it and speeding off, he avoided the first swoop, then spun in a circle as it neared him again, making it bounce off. When the blast came for him again, Goku grabbed it head on with both hands. 23 shook his head, as he could have sworn one of Goku's hands was metal for a while. He watched as Goku was encompassed by the blast.

  
  


Still smoking from the attack, Cell got to his feet and coughed. Leaping into the air, he ran from the battle. He wasn't sure, but maybe 23 and Goku were evenly matched and he could get away. If only he could absorb 18, he would be complete, and then no one could stop him. It wouldn't take him long to figure out Gero's blue lightning, and then he could easily take out any of the androids. With luck, 23 would kill Goku.

  
  


It was not a lucky day for Cell. 23 gaped as his energy sphere grew smaller and eventually was absorbed into Goku's hands. Flying across the field, using every ounce of speed in his body, 23 crossed the distance nearly instantly, swiping toward Goku's head. Leaning back, Goku would have avoided the attack had not a thin metal blade emerged from the back of 23's hand, slicing him on the cheek.

"I drew first blood!" 23 laughed. "You will not defeat me!"

Wiping the blood off his cheek, his eyes narrowing, Goku whisked forward, slamming 23 with his elbow, following up with a series of attacks that knocked the air out of 23. The android was incapable of bleeding, but he felt as if he should have as Goku struck him repeatedly. A final uppercut sent circuitry flying to the side, and 23 fell back, wounded.

They attacked again, clashing with an explosion of force. Ducking a swipe that nearly took his head off, 23 lashed out, but found his attack blocked. Before he could straighten, a foot hit him from above, sending him down once again. Falling, 23 wondered how this saiyan could be so powerful. In theory, there shouldn't have been anyone on the planet at his level, much less superior to him.

Further thoughts were cut short as Goku appeared beneath him, hammering him upward. Catching himself in the air, 23 desperately fired every attack he had toward Goku, dust hissing up around the saiyan as he planted his feet on the ground and held his hands to one side as he charged.

The dust cleared just in time for 23 to see Goku finish charging.

"Ha!" the energy beam swept up toward him faster than he had thought possible, striking him dead on. Blown backward by the attack, 23 seemed to shatter into hundreds of metallic particles. Goku stopped the blast and watched carefully as the specks of silver hit the ground. The portal the android had came through opened, and the remains of 23 were sucked into it, and then it was gone.

Shaking his head as he dropped out of Super Saiyan, Goku looked and felt around for Cell, only to find him far away. He could guess what he was doing. Bringing two fingers to his head, Goku warped there, only hoping he wasn't too late.

  
  


As he arrived he saw that he was. Cell's tail, monstrous and circular, enveloped 18. Groaning, Goku fired a blast, but Cell didn't even turn, merely batting it away with one hand. Then 18 was gone and a blue sphere of power surrounded Cell, knocking Goku backward. It grew larger and larger as his power grew. Shaking off both the energy and the shock, Goku charged forward, but the sphere repelled him again.

Firing a blast toward it, the energy splintered off it and crackled into the air. Seeing the uselessness of his attacks, Goku stopped and merely charged up energy. When the sphere faded, Cell stood below him, transformed and gazing at his hands in wonder. The prongs on his head had tightened until they stood directly up, and he had thinned slightly. Feeling his power, Goku realized it was astronomical.

Launching all his energy in a series of blasts, Goku hoped he could take out a good portion of Cell's power, because directly fighting him, he didn't stand a chance. Putting up a shield without even glancing up, Cell was unharmed as all the blasts deflected off. Grabbing a nearby pillar of stone, Goku hurled it toward Cell, where it splintered harmlessly against his shield. Meaning to comment on the worthless attack, Cell raised his eyes to find a newly Super Saiyan Goku staring at him, energy collecting in his hands.

The next attack rocked the ground around the impact location, but dashed itself against Cell's shield as well. Goku sensed that his attacks had chipped away at Cell's energy, but he remained unharmed.

"Now that I have absorbed 18," Cell's voice was calmer and smoother, "I have reached my perfect form. I am all that you could ever have become and more. All your potential is within me now. Now, I truly have no limits."

Smirking at him, Cell continued. "Right now, however, neither of us is in top fighting form. I could still crush you like a bug, but I say that we make this fight a simple clean one, where I can prove I am far your superior. In three days I will announce my tournament. I hope you arrive, because I don't expect much out of this pathetic planet."Before Goku could even say anything, Cell rose into the air and flew off. He was too weak to try and follow him, so Goku dropped out of Super Saiyan and began flying back to his make-shift home. It was obvious he needed more power somehow, of that he was certain. But how could he become strong enough to defeat Cell, if he was really perfect? Deep within him, his old spirit rose up to the front again; while he didn't know how, he'd have to try.


	19. Episode XVIII: Cell Saga

Stretching, Goku balanced his energies and sighed deeply. After the android fiasco, he never had gotten any time to recuperate and just be calm. Whenever he managed to do that, he was sure his power would increase once again. For now, however, he needed raw power more than balance, and he had a few ways he could get some fast. Flitting into the air he flew off to Korin's Tower.

A long time ago, he had been tempted to drink the water and have his power level doubled. But he had restrained himself for a time when he needed it more. Now was such a time. The cat attacked him, but Goku blocked it with one hand. The force of the block was enough to send it to the ground. Leaning over beside the pool, Goku sipped and felt the energy running through him.

The ground trembled, the sky darkened and became cloudy suddenly. Rocks began to float up into the air and swirl around him, blue lightning flashed in the sky.

"What's happening?" he yelled to Korin. The cat laughed.

"The pool cannot double your power level over one billion!" the cat cackled. "If it is more then that, he who drinks from the pool is destroyed!"

Everything began rumbling further, the ground cracking around them. What was going on, Korin wondered? This magic pool of water was just a trick, a goal to boost power in other ways. It had no real power, did it? A giant bolt of silver lightning came down and struck Goku directly and with incredible force. There was a blinding flash, then everything was still.

Goku opened his eyes. Birds were singing, the sky was blue and cloudless. The rocks were scattered everywhere, and the tower was slightly damaged, but everything seemed normal. Korin was staring at him, looking shocked and worried.

"How is this possible?" the cat stammered. Goku smiled as he felt his power level.

"One billion exactly." The cat gawked. Goku flew up into the air and moved back toward Kami's Lookout. That was as much as he could boost his power level in a short amount of time, he'd have to train to get higher. One billion, Goku whistled. That was very high. But Perfect Cell had even more, he reminded himself, and he would be training in this time as well. Goku wasn't sure if he could beat him in Super Saiyan, but he didn't want to take his chances.

A short while later, Goku stood in front of a table at his house. He pulled out both of his capsules with the androids' energy in them. First he took out the Android 19 capsule. The purple ball of energy appeared. Goku smiled; he was going to show Cell why no one messed with Earth and the people he cared for.

Suddenly Goku realized what he was thinking. People he cared for? Who did he really care for? Android 18? Maybe so, but the thought disturbed him. He hadn't cared for anyone for a long time, not since he had learned the truth and his eyes had changed. But now was not the time for speculation, now was the time for action.

Placing his hands on the orb, Goku attempted to absorb it. Energy washed out, obviously malevolant, trying to blow him away with its sheer power. Because it wasn't strong enough it switched strategy, trying to burn out his system. Goku could easily handle that amount of energy, however. This wasn't going as well as he had hoped. Goku removed his hands from the orb.

Glancing down at his android hand, Goku considered it. While he hadn't begun to understand exactly how it worked, Goku did know his hand could do quite a bit more than before. As he attempted to place it on the orb alone, it shifted to a metallic version of his former hand.

Shocked, Goku ripped his hand away from the orb, and it instantly became flesh again. Comparing his hands, Goku found he couldn't tell the difference between them. True, his metal hand was rock hard, but so was his other hand. There seemed something wrong about his hand being metal, though. Sighing, Goku decided there was nothing he could do about it, at least not now. What was he becoming?

Placing his hand on the energy, Goku found that he easily absorbed it. Pulling out Android 16's energy as well, Goku began to absorb it. For a brief moment his body seemed to overload as new and unfamiliar ki blazed through his system. Using his own ki rapidly, Goku managed to balance the new ki in with his normal. A bit burned out, Goku dropped to the ground. But his new energy began to creep into his system, fill him with new power. Mentally, he decided he would never try to absorb another's energy like that again, he should have just used his old life draining technique. Somehow, he doubted it would work on any warrior who was strong enough.

Shaking aside thoughts and getting to Kami's Lookout, Goku landed and walked into the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. He still had one day he could spend in there, then he would have to train outside for the rest of the time. Once again the training began, and he went all out, hardly stopping to eat or sleep. In his mind, he mentally reviewed what Kami had said about this place. Every day that passed while he was inside the chamber was only a day outside. But inside, he got an entire year's worth of training in. It was just unfortunate that he could only use it twice in his lifetime.

  
  


Looking below, King Vegita considered everything again. At one point, he had thought he had everything under control, he was the master of his fate. But now? Things were nothing like they had been once. His own son had killed him, and now all the others were in the Afterlife, killed by the androids.

King Vegita was there watching almost constantly, there more than anyone else. None of the others ever asked him why, because they didn't want to know. But he knew. Everyone else didn't want to pry into the mind of their former leader, before he had been killed by his own son. Bardock would watch his "son" in the screen, but even he spent less time at the screen then the King did.

Why? The question seemed meaningless to him. But he had an answer. He was watching his son. What? anyone would ask, your son's here with us! Yes, he'd reply, but that son isn't one I ever want to see again. I'll watch my other son. What other son? they'd ask. And he wouldn't answer them, because it's his secret.

His son was like him, vicious, backstabbing. It was just too bad Vegita Jr had decided to kill him. But that wasn't the son he wanted to think about. He wanted to think about his other son. That was a secret only a few people had ever known. But they didn't now. He'd killed them all, and upon arrival in the afterlife, erased them from existence as well. They'd never tell.

So it was his secret alone. The secret that he had a second son. But his second son had been a weakling, a horrible weakling. He had been so ashamed that he had thought up a scheme to save his honor. King Vegita had placed his son elsewhere, to be found by another parent. Never would he have suffered such an indignity. Still, there had been a few loose strings, and Frieza had almost seen him. Even now, he wasn't sure how much the changeling knew about what was going on.

But now one of his sons hated him and had killed him. So he didn't matter anymore. And of all things, his other son, the weakling, now occupied most of his time. His other son had grown up and gotten stronger, much stronger. Now, as he training even more to fight this impossible opponent, King Vegita found a flicker of pride appearing in his heart.

His other son. Kakkarrot.

  
  


Everyone would have been shocked, had they learned his secret. But now, would it be a bad thing? His son Kakkarrot was by far the most powerful say-jin ever to walk a planet, and more skilled than anyone there. It was just too bad that he had lost his say-jin memory. If only there was a way to reach him and reawaken it again.

That was what worried King Vegita most of all. The visual screen only went so far, it couldn't tell him everything. As his son became more skilled at masking his ki, it became harder to get a solid reading on him. There had been a few times, when he had been in a battle, that his ki had exploded to its full power, and then they had gotten a clear picture, but the rest of the time it was more difficult. He just wished that he could somehow be there himself. Sighing at the impossibility, he lowered his head and watched once again.

  
  


Gazing out in the endless white expanse, Goku silently gathered energy around himself. Filled with the ki of himself and everything there, he rushed forward, flying into the emptiness. Everything got heavier and heavier as he went further, and by the time his starting point was just a speck, he could barely stand. Getting to his feet carefully, he powered up and sent energy flying everywhere, willing himself to remain on his feet.

Focusing, he moved as fast as he could, attacking swiftly. Pivoting, he kicked and then nodded, satisfied with his performance under that level of gravity. He went deeper, and continued his training. By the time he had worked up a good sweat, he decided it was time to try another level. Yelling, he threw his head back and let his energy go, power flooding around him. In an instant he was Super Saiyan, and he pushed harder, attempting to go further. When his golden aura had obscured all vision he stopped, unable to do much more.

Falling to the ground and out of Super Saiyan, Goku abruptly decided to train his technique. With years of being sick, he was a bit rusty. Plus, with all the raw power being thrown around among the androids, his power was far wilder than he liked it to be. Control would have to be one priority.

But if he just came at Cell with his old moves, it would be a deadly mistake. Right now, he needed an edge, something that would give him the advantage in the fight. Concentrating on keeping an aura up at full strength, he considered what he could do. While he realized he had no understanding of what had happened during the lab, he knew that it had granted him many new abilities; he would have to consider those well and refine them. Remembering back to the moves the androids had done, he smiled. There was a good chance he could do some of those as well. Not that he wanted to do something as ineffective as 24's boomerang attack, but there were some real possibilities in others.

Flexing every muscle to it's max, Goku shot his energy out around him and pulled it back as fast as possible, creating an explosion of power. He deflected the ki that crackled across the plane as a result and gathered energy. Firing, he launched a gigantic attack, then flew around to the other side of it to deflect it away. Returning to the other side, Goku deflected it again, but could no longer keep it up and just dispelled the attack.

Goku panted for a brief moment, then forced himself to run at top speed back to the door. Exhausted, he sat down and meditated , allowing his ki to focus and clarify itself. When his mind was quiet again he took it up a few notches, levitating fractions of stone around him in a whirlwind. As he became more and more concentrated, it moved faster and more violently. Struggling with his control, he finished and then headed over to one of the giant hourglasses on either side of the buildings by the door.

Watching the sand, he spread his perception as far as he could, and the air seemed to thicken and the world around him became darker. At first imperceptibly, the sand began to slow, dropping at a slower and slower rate. Sweat poured down his face as he tried to take it further. As he managed to get it to barely move, he fell backward, unable to do any more. Tomorrow was another day.

Eventually getting to his feet, he stretched and leaned against the side of the building. For an instant he struggled with an emotion formerly alien to him- apathy. Why did he bother? No matter what he did, no one would ever care. His best efforts were in vain, when attempting to stop all that was happening. All physical opponents could be defeated, but how could one fight hate?

Taking a deep breath, he struggled to remember purity. He remembered things that weren't tainted. There was so little, but they shone gloriously bright. But what had he to live for? Part of him wanted to give in, to end it all and join Piccolo in the Afterlife. Another part, a stronger part, refused. Don't give up, it told him, there is yet a reason. You yet have a part to play.

Listening to his own heart, Goku made his decision. Now that he had caught his breath, he began resolutely moving out away from the door. When he felt like he was far enough he gathered his energy and became a Super Saiyan. The energy from it expanded outward, seeming to shake the very walls of the miniature universe he was in.

"I will end this," he told the endless void, further focusing his power, "I will."

"Can Cell be that powerful, Master?" the apprentice asked Dai Kioshin.

"I don't know," he was forced to say. "His power is incredible. I had not thought that even Evil had a power level that high. We may count ourselves lucky that he cannot come here."

"Yes, Master." The apprentice bowed low.

"And Goku is far too powerful." Dai Kioshin's anger rumbled through the heavens. "He's keeping a lock on it now, and I can't read him, but he could be stronger than we have thought. And still he progresses."

"Yes he does, Master."

"Look closely, my apprentice. His body grows stronger even when he doesn't train, he gains strength every day. He is staying constantly young, he may never grow older or die of age. That would be incredible, but I think we can stop it. He can breath in water, and in space; his energy has incredible endurance. We have all of our strongest working to keep him down, but we are having little luck that way. At least the great seal is not breaking."

Both glanced nervously at the seal.

"Would the seal not have turned silver, Master?" the apprentice asked.

"The legend does say that when the Legendary One is born the seal will turn silver," his master agreed, "and it is always correct. But I think that this Goku could be a problem, even though he's not the Legendary One. It doesn't matter, his inner drive is going to push him beyond even us. I fear if he continues to wreck the world, the seal will break under the strain, and we will have no way to foretelling the Legendary One."

"Does the legend not also say that the seal will have a crack run across it when the Legendary One comes to full power?"

"Stop all of this legend talk!" Dai Kioshin said abruptly. "I was there when we made the seal. Everything in the legend is true, but we ourselves made the legend. The seal tries to keep the Legendary One from coming to power. It turns silver as soon as they are born and it has to start working. When it cracks, they will begin dipping into their true power. If the crack reaches all four portions of the seal, they will have their full power and the seal will be useless. We set it up so that if the crack reaches all four parts, the seal will try and heal itself, so they will not have their true power for long."

"But why do we not want the Legendary One to come to power?"

Dai Kioshin was silent for a long time.

"Because it might be a human, a namek, a saiyan, anything but a Kioshin. We must be the strongest warriors in the universe. Not anyone else. Not even the Kais. Eventually the Legendary One will be one of us, and then we will take down the seal and allow that Kioshin to reach his full potential."

"And you want it yourself, you old geezer." Dai Kioshin glanced at his apprentice in shock, but his apprentice looked just as surprised as he did, and he was looking forward. Dai looked forward as well and saw one of the last people he wanted to see.

"Piccolo!" He spat out the name.

"Well, I'm working my way up in life," Piccolo chuckled. "First I annoy a Kami, then a Kai, and now the greatest Kioshin himself!"

"You impetuous Namek!"

"Impetuous?" Piccolo looked innocent. "All I do is tell you the truth. If you don't want to hear it, that is your own problem, not mine."

"The game's not over yet," Dai Kioshin growled.

"It is," Piccolo said, shaking his head at him. "You just don't realize it. Oh, maybe there's some time left in the game, but I know which team will be on the winner's side. There isn't anything that you can do now to stop us from winning."

Whirling, Piccolo walked off, his cape flapping behind him. Leaping from his seat, Dai Kioshin launched red lightning from his fingertips to strike down the Namek. The lightning hit him and he staggered, but then it surrounded him in a sphere, no longer harming him. Suddenly Dai Kioshin's own energy came back, now blue, and hit him hard. He was on his knees, barely able to move.

"Don't try to attack me," Piccolo said tersely. "Especially from behind."

The Namek was gone.

  
  


Goku smiled and flexed his hand. It was time to go to the Cell Games. He had heard them announced just a brief second ago, and now it was time to see if all he had done was enough to beat Cell. His power level was nearing one and a half billion, a lot better than it had been before. 

He was soon in an entirely different landscape. Ruined cities surrounded everything, the scent of death and decay floated everywhere. A group of toppled skyscrapers were knocked into a circle. Goku couldn't figure it out, but then felt the kis that surrounded the area. That was where it would be.

Flying there, Goku arrive just in time to see Cell's next competitor step up. Cell moved back and something fired from the small tube on his back where his tail had been. A tiny, blue version of Cell flew out and easily backhanded his opponent over the wall. Cell turned to see Goku.

"Well, you finally made it," he said dryly. "I was beginning to think you'd leave me waiting forever. None of these idiots are even strong enough to stand up to a Cell Junior, much less me. How do you like them? Tiny little replicas of me. They're very powerful too, if not quite my power."

Cell's eyes tightened with pleasure. "My power level is far greater now, Goku. I've been absorbing lots of energy. I think I'll see how you do on the Cell's Juniors first. Maybe I'll send a few sets to wear you down a bit." 

The five Cell Juniors that had already been created leaped up suddenly and attacked Goku. Going Super Saiyan, Goku let them hit. They all moved over his body, attacking him from every possible position, but none of them did any good. Goku grinned. His power was a bit much for them. Putting his aura up around him, all of the Cell Juniorss were badly scorched, suspended unmoving in Goku's aura.

Barely visible amid the golden flames, Goku could be observed only by the destruction he left behind. Here a Cell Junior was blasted by an energy attack, here a kick tore through one. In mere seconds the Cell Juniors were no more. Stepping back to the center of his aura again, Goku dropped the aura, and the Cell Juniors dropped to the ground.

Flying to the first one, Goku touched it, then absorbed all of its energy into himself. He did the same with all the other Cell jr.s then flew back up to where Cell was, dropping out of Super Saiyan form and still fresh from the energy he had absorbed.

"I wouldn't advise doing that again, Cell," he said. "My strength has gone to a new level."

"You are still no match for me," Cell laughed. "But I must admit, you did a wonderful job of destroying all those little weaklings. You're smart, Goku, that's why you'll be so much fun to kill."

Flying forward, Cell charged at him. Goku just barely managed to go Super Saiyan and get out of the way as fast as he could. He kicked Cell back, knocking him almost to the ground. Cell flew up in a flying kick, but Goku easily dodged, grabbed his leg and tossed him into a large pillar. Cell got up and hovered in front of him.

"That's impossible! You cannot be faster than me! I am a perfect warrior, without flaw!"

"I don't know if I am," Goku said simply.

"Let's find out."

Flying forward, Cell began punching toward Goku as quickly as he could. Goku dodged all of his punches and blocked only one, moving back just a bit to keep Cell moving forward. Finally Cell panted and slowed his punching, tired out. But Goku wasn't tired yet; he kicked Cell as hard as he could in the chest. Cell went flying backward, then righted himself. 

"Solar-"

Before he could finish, Goku threw up a reflective shield and closed his eyes.

"Flare!"

The burst of pure light bounced off Goku's shield and reflected back at Cell, who was blinded. Goku leaped forward and started having an open season on the green machine. Cell recovered and punched Goku away from him, Goku struggled to fly steadily again and then faced Cell.

"I don't just have your moves." Cell grinned, still confident. "I have everyone else's!"

Goku charged all of his energy up, waiting to see what Cell would do.

"Final Flash!"

The giant blast was aimed right for his former location, but Goku wasn't there. He suddenly came flying directly toward the blast at top speed from a different angle.

"Galic Gun!"

The energy disks slammed into the blast, each impact knocking it backward, blasting it into Cell, who fell, then righted himself again.

"As you can see," Goku said, smiling just a little bit, "I can learn Vegita's moves too."

Both attacked briefly again, then parted. Charging up energy behind him, Goku began his signature blast.

"Kaaaa-meeeeee-"

As the monster began to prepare for the blast, Goku launched it before he even pronounced the third syllable. Caught off guard, Cell was blasted backward. Getting up raggedly, he glared up at Goku, who allowed himself to drift above the monster.

As Cell charged up again, Goku tried to anticipate what he was going to do. If he could keep getting the jump on Cell by intelligence like this, he could very well win this battle, even though he was outclassed in power level. Just then he realized, possibly too late, what Cell was trying to do.

The kienzan sped for him at top speed. Goku got out of the way, caught the kienzan as he went past him, then slingshoted it around without losing speed. Without breaking motion, he went through with the swing and threw it back at Cell. Cell tried to dodge, but it nicked off the front half of his arm.

Grimacing, Cell made the arm regenerate and moved on Goku again. Obviously, Piccolo was included in Cell's genes, if he had Namekiian regeneration. They fought, Goku winning, but he failed to notice that Cell's tail had quickly regrown. It swept down, chopping off his arm. Yelling in pain, Goku fell to his knees. Cell laughed at him and bent close to spit in his face.

Suddenly and unexplainably, Goku's arm grew back again. Tendons knotted, skin and bone appeared from no where and his arm became whole again, the remnants of the old one fading. Goku grabbed Cell's neck with one arm and used his new arm to uppercut him hard enough to send him into the sky. What had he just done? His arm had just been regrown, just like Piccolo could. How had that happened?

But Cell was back down now, and he looked very ticked off.

"You may have learned how to regenerate," Cell growled, "but your power cannot match mine!"

"Kamehameha!" They both yelled it at the same time, their beams clashing in the exact center of the battlefield. The buildings around began shattering as power flooded from the collision of the two blasts. Goku put his head down and forced his energy into the beam. There were people counting on him, he needed to do this. He almost shook his head, who really cared? But no matter how few, he needed to stop this menace. It was important to keep going as long as possible. If he could there was a chance- his thoughts were broken by Cell's shout. Goku looked up and saw that his beam was almost on Cell. Giving it a last burst of power, Goku blasted Cell. He went flying backward, severely damaged and stunned. Cell got up, not yet beaten.

But now Goku realized that his power was actually greater than Cell's. It was time for him to try out his new move. He had never thought this ability would do him much good, as it wouldn't work on something as strong as Cell, but now he had a chance. Running forward, three claws suddenly grew from Goku's right hand. Leaping into the air before he got to Cell, Goku came down, the three razor sharp claws slicing Cell.

They split him down the center into four parts. All four fell down, looking shocked, and he retracted the claws. Goku worried anxiously. Would it work? Before his eyes the middle two parts of Cell melded together, forming Cell again, a first-form Cell. It was laying on the ground, weakened. The two side pieces turned into Androids 17 and 18. 17 was on the ground, but 18 was standing, sobbing.

Moving over to her, Goku patted her on the back sympathetically. Tears flowing freely, she turned and hugged him fiercely. Goku let her; if this would let her get rid of her feelings, that was fine with him. Still, some small part of his mind was slightly disturbed. Eventually she got more in control of herself and moved back, self-conscious. But by now he had another problem, as Android 17 had gotten up as well.

Flipping to his feet, he got in a fighting position in front of Goku. 

"Dr. Gero is dead, 17," Goku said softly. "You don't have to fight me anymore."

17 didn't move.

"You have one chance." Goku's voice was a bit harder now. "You can pick Gero's way, or whatever way you want, I don't want to hurt you."

"It wouldn't matter," 17 spat out. "I want to finish off the humans. Dr. Gero's way is my way anywa-"

His voice cut off. Goku had flown forward at full speed and launched a punch. Time seemed to slow a second after Goku had struck, as all observed the devastating effects. Goku's fist was flaming, 17 was falling backward, breaking into pieces. The flames covered him and consumed him. It all happened in less then an instant. 17 was gone, nothing but ashes remained. Landing, Goku moved back over to 18, who gawked.

"The nightmare is almost over," he whispered, to himself or to her, it wasn't certain. Then he moved back to Cell, who was getting up.

"I'll self-destruct!" Cell warned. "It may not hit you, but it will kill everyone on this planet!"

Cell started rumbling and shaking. Goku flew forward and grabbed him, doing Instant Transmission. An explosion began and-

  
  


Cell and Goku appeared out in space, nearby a small asteroid with a few humans on it. Goku pushed Cell away from them in the last instant he had. There seemed to be a single instant when time stood still, and Goku found himself amazed at all that went through his mind. Was this the end now? Perhaps that was what was necessary. Cell would be gone, the Earth would be safe. He had no fear of 18 damaging Earth. With any luck, she could have a happy ending as well. Piccolo would be there, he knew, whenever he reached the Afterlife. Then, perhaps, he could find peace.

The second shattered as Cell exploded, energy washing out from the point of impact, everything nearby shattering into smaller and smaller particles. There was a magnificent flash, dwarfing the nearby supernova, and then the light faded into the eternal darkness of space.

  
  


-

  
  


Look ma! A cliffhanger!


	20. Episode XIX: Cell Saga

I really appreciate your reviews, Dreamwraith. I am also grateful to the others who reviewed, I feel as though people are actually reading my story. Also, I certainly hope that you don't think this is the end. There's a lot more to come...

-

18 stood surprised, watching where they had been. In the last second, Goku had somehow warped Cell away from the planet, to some unknown location. Would he really give his life to save the planet? That sort of conviction made her head spin. Wiping away a tear that came unbidden, 18 turned to go. What was her life to be now?

An energy appeared on the battlefield, and she whipped around, hair flying, to see Cell arrive, glowing with power and once again in perfect form.

"The fool didn't understand that I can regenerate from even a single one of my cells," Cell said softly, triumphantly. "And one did survive. It is a shame that I didn't destroy the planet in the blast, but now there is no one here who can stop me."

He looked up at her significantly, an evil smile playing on his lips.

"Using my saiyan genes, I have become far stronger than I have ever been before. Nothing can stand in my way."

Before 18 could do anything, another form appeared on the battlefield. Goku appeared between them, holding one arm and looking battered, but very much alive. For an instant Cell looked surprised, but he quickly covered it up and smirked down at him. Staring back impassively, Goku said nothing.

"Well, now you are weakened, and I am stronger than ever. You stand no chance. But even if our positions were reversed, you couldn't beat me." Cell laughed. "I have seen it. In the space between worlds, a gap in existence, I've gained knowledge beyond your wildest dreams. The only person who can defeat me is another. You need your allies here, but they aren't. The Earth will be destroyed, everyone on it annihilated. Everyone you care about, your family and friends. I'll kill 18, too, you realize that, don't you? I don't need her anymore." 

Unable to take the pain and confused by Cell's words, Goku fell to his knees and out of Super Saiyan.

"The only person that can defeat me is your son, Gohan. I have seen it! He is not here, so you will perish. Your little boy is the only one who can attain the level beyond Super Saiyan, and you cannot. And without you there, he cannot defeat me on his own! Yes, your precious little boy, the one who loves you so much, will-"

"Stop it!"

Goku erupted in anger. Not because of what Cell threatened, because it was obvious that he had no idea what he was talking about. No, his anger flowed because of what Cell thought was true. In his words, Goku was getting a cruel glimpse into what his future might have been, had things gone right. Krillin was still his friend, everyone else liked him, almost everyone on Earth was still alive, Piccolo was alive, his family was still together, Chi-chi loved him. A pain worse than anything his body felt wracked his spirit. Worst of all, the words "the one who loves you so much-" 

"Nooooooo!" This yell echoed off of everything, surprising even Cell. Dust flew over everything, rocks levitated and exploded in the air as energy flooded out from the now obscured saiyan, making a dazzling display of power. 18 watched, amazed; Cell watched, bored and unimpressed after his initial shock.

When the dust vanished, Goku stood there, his Super Saiyan hair even larger than it had been before, a few locks across his face, waving in his self-generated wind. Cell laughed at him and charged forward in a flying punch. Goku didn't try to dodge; Cell hit him right between the eyes. Nothing happened. Goku didn't flinch or even move.

"Owwww," Cell barely gasped out, clutching his hand. Goku smirked and made a violent gesture up. Energy blasted his opponent into the air. Cell was too damaged to fly and fell to another punch before falling directly down to the ground again, just barely getting up. He flew up slowly, already worn out, then faced off with Goku.

"I have reached the level beyond Super Saiyan," Goku said calmly but tightly. "I am an Ascended Saiyan. This is Super Saiyan 2. You can't hurt me any more. You may be able to regenerate from a single cell, and that's fine. I'll take you down to less than atoms. It is time to finish you."

"Wanna bet?" Cell taunted, somehow refusing to believe the truth. Goku's only reply was:

"Kaaaaa-"

Cell fired a Big Bang. It hit Goku's aura shield and snuffed out like a candle.

"Meeeee-"

Powering up, Cell launched a Kamehameha of his own. Hitting Goku it did nothing, bouncing off him.

"Haaaaa-"

Cell fired a few rounds of Triangle Cannons at Goku, they merely slid off, energy dissipating harmlessly.

"Meeeee-"

Cell took all of his energy and fired a giant Kienzan at Goku. It passed through his shield and struck him, but when energy met flesh it bounced off, doing no damage whatsoever.

"HA!

The giant beam sped toward Cell, who was too drained to dodge and was hit by it dead on. The sheer intensity of the blast left lines across everyone's vision. There was nothing left of Cell, not a fraction of a single cell in his body survived as the energy from the blast dissipated. Goku stood there, surrounded by his golden flames, which burned around him. 18 stood, looking shocked, having barely kept her balance from the gigantic blast. Turning, Goku looked at her, and for a second their eyes locked. There was a flicker of fear that ran through 18's mind, but then Goku powered down, black locks falling back into place.

"You are free," he said dryly. "Do whatever you want. I trust that you'll make the right decisions."

Raising two fingers to his forehead, Goku vanished, leaving 18 alone with herself.

  
  


Dai Kioshin grated his teeth. Why was this happening? That evil Cell being was gone, but Goku had proved that his determination was even more than the green monster could stand up to. That despicable determination allowed him to beat a perfect warrior, a battle that should have been impossible. Could Goku's determination make him even stronger than the Legendary One? If so, Dai Kioshin knew that he was doomed, for even if he himself became the Legendary One, he wasn't sure that he could defeat this Goku. While he wasn't the Legendary One, if he managed to become strong enough, that distinction could mean nothing.

Piccolo had stopped by to smirk at him and make a few remarks. Dai Kioshin suffered and wished that Evil would just come so that he had something to fight, not an impossible saiyan and a mocking Namek. Of course, he realized, there was a third factor in the whole equation he hadn't considered, perhaps because he didn't want to. Darkness...

Goku landed back at his home, biting back a few tears and concentrating on the future. What was he going to do now? Cell was defeated, the androids were either dead or on his side. Of course, he would train, but that couldn't occupy his full time. He could help out the humans, who were struggling to rebuild. They had a tough time ahead of them, considering the fact that there were only less than 150,000 of them left, as opposed to the billions that there had been before. Over 50 billion, the fact came into his head suddenly.

But he really didn't want to. They could rebuild themselves, and it was partially their fault they were in such bad condition in the first place. It was their mentality that was so deadly to themselves. And the war they had been having didn't help much either. Goku shook his head, having a war in the middle of such annihilation was beyond him. 

That was one good thing the androids had done, he supposed. With the armies gone, they couldn't keep fighting their wars and finish each other off completely. Goku didn't have to like the humans, but unlike all the others before him, he would let them live. And help them defeat any threats to their planet. And let them take credit for it, too. Hercule had still survived the androids. No, he'd get them out of problems that came to them, they'd get out of problems them made themselves. They'd get no help from him on that account.

Rebuilding struck a cord in his mind. Maybe he could make the makeshift home he already had into something a bit better. He would be spending a lot more time there, now that the newest wave of evil had been destroyed. That was what he could do, that'd last him awhile. 

By this time he was almost at his house. Landing in the ruins of the huge city, Goku entered and looked around at everything quickly. It was all in order, his few possessions in a chest against the wall. The only furniture in the room was a bed in one corner and a chair in the other.

Moving back out, Goku first set out to find something he could build the base building off of. He needed a capsule house of the best issue, that could be a start. Where was the closest Capsule Corps store? Glancing around, he headed out to the city on a scavenging hunt. It didn't take him long to find it. Everything was in relatively good condition, at least in the back rooms. Goku winced as he saw a dead body, stiff and decaying. Blocking the image from his mind, he launched a beam and cleaned it off the floor.

Finding the right sort of house, Goku quickly took it and left. Moving back to his home, he cleared an open space with a few beams, then used the capsule. The house appeared. Goku nodded, it would suit his purposes just fine. Moving inside, he started rearranging things. Going back out, Goku got his stuff from his old house and moved it into the new one. It didn't take very long.

Glancing at his work, he was fairly happy with himself. It was a two-bedroom house; not that he needed the other one, but it was there. Odd, must have been intuition, but why? Unable to figure it out, he just ignored it. The rest of it was his living room and kitchen. That would work for what he needed. He decided to leave the second floor open for storage, but there was a nice little balcony he wanted to take advantage of. Now he moved back to scavenge in the city. What he needed next was a second area, one that he could train in. And a gravity machine, if he could find one...

  
  


It was dusk, and Goku felt tired, but it was a good tired. He had added an entire new section to his house, this one made for training. He had cleared it out and removed the walls, then made a connecting hallway between both sides. That had taken a while, and a bit of heating with his finger, but it had worked. With that done, he had added a gravity machine that could get up to 3000Gs and installed the net of wires through the training building. That was enough for today.

Going home (he already thought of it as his home), Goku slept like a rock for a few hours, then woke early in the morning to continue building. Today he wanted to try out his new training center, but he needed to do a few more things first.

Taking apart one of the giant skyscrapers in the city, Goku had gotten enough alloys to strengthen the training room so it could take his usual training. As long as he kept a lid on himself and never shot any ki blasts, it would do fine. He also got a bunch of metals together, as he wanted to coat the house with metal so that it could stand most things sent against it. But there wasn't time for that today, so he mentally set it aside. 

He had gotten a lucky find while searching through one of the buildings. It was a large supercomputer with some of the most advanced systems he had ever seen. It was a bit damaged, but it didn't take Goku very long to fix it. Now he had placed it up on the second floor and set it to start monitoring conditions around. That could be worth a lot to him if he used it right.

After noon, Goku trained until six in the training chamber. It worked just fine for him. He didn't want to get tired out now so he just sent it up to 1000Gs. After that, he went back into his normal house and sat out on the balcony on the second floor. He started meditating, hovering a few inches off the ground. Goku understood why Piccolo liked this so much; it was actually a good exercise. It also calmed him down, bringing himself to a state of perfect balance, letting his mind clear of all problems.

Now, for the first time since after Cell had been defeated, he thought about everything with a clear mind. In truth, he admitted to himself, he had been keeping any of those thoughts away by rebuilding. But he wouldn't escape now. There were times when one needed to face oneself. 

Cell was gone. It hardly seemed to matter. For so long, with the androids and then Cell, things had been different. Now, the threat was gone. It was over. Then why did he feel so empty? A cold blankness seemed to pervade his soul. None of it mattered. This had changed nothing, only stemmed a tide of destruction that would have destroyed the planet. Was that even a good thing? What would this much hate do to the universe? One side of him asked himself what the true difference was between Cell and the people that spawned him.

How often would it be like this? His victory meant nothing, did nothing to heal himself. It did nothing to heal the planet, for that matter. Would he always be left with nothing but this cold emptiness? Yet somehow, he knew that he would continue. When the time came, he would defend Earth again.

His thoughts were broken as he felt a ki coming. No, he corrected himself, it wasn't a ki, it was something different. But it was a person, an energy signature, and it was coming this way at a fair speed. That meant he knew who it was. Goku got up and flew out to meet them.


	21. Episode XX: Interlude

I am very pleased that more individuals are reviewing. My thanks. Also, Dreamwraith, you're going to get your wish...

  
  


-

  
  


18 looked around nervously, feeling for Goku's ki. Right now she couldn't sense it anywhere, but the house below felt like him. He must have been here a short while ago. She wanted to be as unthreatening as possible, as she still remembered the look in his eyes as he had eradicated 17 so easily. Even though she hated to admit, even silently, that she was in a bad situation, she knew when she was outclassed.

Landing, 18 walked over to the door, raised a hand and stopped. Did it make any sense to knock?

"Go ahead," a voice said from behind. 18 whirled around and saw Goku standing behind her, watching her. She still couldn't feel his ki; he must have been hiding it very well.

"Why are you here?" he asked, moving forward to stand in front of her in the doorway, folding his arms.

"I don't know where to go," she stammered. "I don't have anywhere to go. I used to have a home, but I don't remember anything from that life anymore. Then when I was an android, I never had a home; I followed Gero on his rampage. I don't have anywhere to live."

She stopped suddenly, surprised at how much she had said. Goku, however, seemed thoughtful. For an instant their eyes locked, and it wasn't long before 18 lowered her gaze. His was piercing, seeming to slice through her to the soul. But after that he nodded, as if to himself.

"I don't mind you living here." Goku's eyes didn't look threatening now. "And I do have a second room. Feel free to stay as long as you want."

Turning, Goku opened the door and held it open for her. After she reluctantly walked in, Goku gestured to her room, then flew straight up to the second floor. 18 glanced around, now what was she going to do? She hadn't expected it to be this easy. What she had expected was for Goku to be angry, but he seemed collected and calm. Shrugging, 18 looked around the house, exploring.

  
  


Just an hour later, 18's look around the house was complete. She had made her room something that she liked, just a few little touches here and there. It had all the standard comforts that a capsule house did, so she would be fine. Now what to do?

Flying up into the second floor, 18 looked around. One side of the room had a door, but the other side was far more interesting. A giant computer stood on one end of the room, bent around a chair in the center. Sitting down in it, 18 saw readouts and ratings galore. Most of it puzzled her, but some of it looked familiar. Near her right arm, a miniature globe of energy floated above. There was a panel below. 18 tapped it and was surprised to see the image light up and change. It had to be a readout of Earth.

After changing the globe back to the way it had been, 18 looked back to the door. Stepping almost to it, she looked out. A small balcony stood out there, showing a wonderful sunset. Goku sat, hovering cross-legged, meditating with eyes closed. She hesitated; she wasn't really sure what she intended to say. For a second, emotion overcame her, and she couldn't speak. After everything that had happened, he did something that she never would have expected from anyone, much less someone she tried to kill.

"I'm sorry," was all she managed. Goku didn't even turn.

"You're sorry?" His voice was blank. "You think you can apologize for slaughtering billions of people?"

"No," 18 gasped, a bit surprised. "That wasn't me. It's not my fault, I-"

Goku raised a hand and cut her off without moving his head. He stood up and turned in one motion.

"You can't apologize because no apology is necessary. Think of the monster who did those things as a totally different person. You weren't in control of yourself at all. I have forgiven everything you have done already, so you don't need to apologize."

"Oh." This surprised 18 even more. Goku sat back down, no longer floating. 18 moved out onto the balcony and sat down beside him. For a long while, neither spoke. Finally 18 broke the silence with a question.

"What happens to me after this? Would the humans on Earth accept me as one of them?"

"No." Goku's answer was stark and bitter. 18 glanced over, as she hadn't heard his voice ever hold that sort of emotion. "They won't. They have never forgiven me for being a saiyan, and the other saiyans just killed a mere 10% of the planet."

"But..." 18 stumbled, still uncomfortable talking so easily with someone so deadly. "You just saved everyone. Won't they forgive you for that?"

Goku smiled and shook his head. He flicked something nearby, a TV she hadn't noticed in the wall lit up. 

"... man who has saved our world so many times! You've all heard it, but we all need to hear it again! Let's all give a hand for... Hercule!"

Goku flicked it off again, inwardly blessing the great timing. 18 turned to him, shocked.

"You mean he's taken credit for it? All the work you've done, and he gets all the credit?"

Goku nodded sadly, his eyes reflecting a deep pain again.

"This has happened before, hasn't it?" 18 voice grew softer.

"Yes," Goku almost whispered, "every time. After I killed Frieza and sacrificed myself for all the Nameks. After I killed Trunks, King Kold and Frieza. After I finished off Android 19. Now after Cell. Every time."

"That much?"

"Yes," was all Goku said. She couldn't find anything to say, so she just remained silent, watching the sun go down. When it had set, Goku got up and left, going to his room. 18 waited a while longer, then went to hers as well. Not that she needed any sleep, technically, but right now she felt very, very tired. Then there was a true rest, for the first time in a long time.

  
  


Goku got up and glanced at the clock. It was 2:00. But that was fine with him, he usually only needed four hours of sleep every night. Reflecting on that, Goku realized he'd slowly needed less sleep every night. A long time ago, he had been a late sleeper. Then on Namek, he had needed around eight hours. Before he had gotten sick with the heart disease, he had needed six hours. Now he only need four. How far would it go? He wasn't sure.

Floating around the house so as not to wake up 18, Goku moved over into the house. He wasn't sure at all about this new development, but then again, he'd set himself up for it. 18 really didn't know anyone, Goku smiled bitterly, he'd killed most of them. Fairly ironic, now, that compared to one of the ruthless androids, he was the killer. Going into the bathroom, Goku took a quick shower and then changed into his new gi. Walking out, he moved back up to the computer upstairs.

Drumming his fingers on the arm pads of the chair, Goku brought up the diagram of the house on the screen. He added the few modifications he'd made last night to it, then set about planning what to do next. He still hadn't made that metal alloy that he wanted to cover the house with. First he had to get a container of something strong enough to not melt while the other metal did. That would be difficult, but not impossible. Maybe he could find something that would work over in that old warehouse a few blocks down.

Squinting, Goku noticed a small amount of matter floating around in the air. Tapping a few more buttons, Goku started scanning what it was. Smog residue? That thick? He winced, that was pretty bad. Doing a bit of quick figuring, he wondered what the ozone layer must be like. Goku blinked, why did he wonder when he could find out? 

Moving to the globe, he turned on the map and then the ozone layer. The map showed the single city that was left with people in it, Goku tapped a few buttons and his house was added as well, a glowing dot nearby the city. The ozone layer was in very bad condition. In fact, there was only one part still intact, and even that looked frayed. All the rest was just gone. If any part of that shifted, they would have direct radiation coming down on them!

Well, now he had something to do. He was sure the radiation wouldn't hurt him, but it would totally destroy the plant life everywhere on the planet. If he built some sort of shield around his house, he could save as much as possible. In his mind he could almost hear the planet's screams, not only from the mistreatment but from the hate that ran over the surface.

Getting out of his seat, Goku floated out the door to the balcony and sped off to find some materials. He would need some sheet metal; maybe there would be some in that airport...

  
  


18 woke up at around 8:00. She felt much better now. Before things had seemed far greater than her, but now it all appeared manageable. Getting up out of bed, she pulled on her usual jacket and walked out of the room. Noises drifted from outside. 18 glanced out to see what was going on. Goku had a very large sheet of metal that he was measuring. Stepping back, looking satisfied, Goku held up one finger. A bright red beam flared out from it, only about a foot long. He began slicing along the sheet of metal.

Looking around, 18 saw two stacks of metal, one curved and pointed at one end, one set just flat and rectangular. Even was she watched, Goku blew a flame onto the metal he was holding. When it started glowing, Goku bent it into a curved shape and tossed it into the pile.

Stepping out, 18 watched as Goku took the huge, bent pieces of metal and started fitting them together. In a short while, she saw that he was creating a huge dome out of the strips of metal. Welding the strips together with his finger beam, now a bright blue, Goku got a twenty-foot section of wall done, then grabbed it and flew it over to the other side of the house.

Flying lightly, 18 flew around to see what was happening. Goku felt the energy levels rise and saw her. He waved with one hand and then went back to his work. Taking the entire twenty-foot piece, he attached it to the two other sets he had already gotten set up. After welding it together with the others, he flew up to where she was.

"What is this?" 18 asked, gesturing to the partially finished wall.

"A giant dome," Goku said, looking at it from above. "It's only about one-third done. It will surround the house when it's complete."

"But why?"

"I'll show you; follow me a second."

Flying down, Goku landed on the balcony and walked it. Tapping a few buttons, he brought the map of the planet up on the screen.

"That's Earth," he explained, hitting another button. "And that large glowing dot is the last human city. We're a short way away, the blue dot. Now here's the problem."

As Goku hit another button, a large, shifting, translucent mass appeared over the Earth.

"That would be the ozone layer," Goku said. "As you can see, almost the entire thing is gone, except for a fairly small section that happens to be hovering right over us. If any part of it shifts, all the plant life around here is gone. It already looks a bit frayed, and energy from the planet is still eating it away."

"Is that 17 and I's fault?" 18 asked sadly. Goku shook his head.

"No, actually that's just humanity's fault in general. They weren't careful enough with their carbon dioxide, too many trees were destroyed, that sort of thing. It doesn't really matter what they did, the hateful ki running throughout the entire planet is destroying it itself. You guys helped more than hurt by taking out so many of them. If not for that, it wouldn't even be here."

"So that'll turn Earth into a wasteland?"

"Yes." Goku stepped back out onto the balcony and started flying back to his pile. "I don't think it can hurt you or I, but it could be lethal for most of the humans in that city. 150,000 isn't a very large genetic pool, and this could wipe out maybe half that number. But my concern is the fauna and flora. The ecosystem could get fried, and I don't want that to happen. My idea is to build a radiation proof dome, then create a miniature ecosystem."

"Makes sense." 18 nodded. "Can I help?"

"Please do," Goku nodded in return, "I think you understand the procedure. Any help you can give is great."

They worked together for almost an hour. It didn't take 18 long to get the procedure down as well as Goku. It did take a while to learn the single-foot finger beam, but she managed that as well. A sort of synergy sprang up and working as a team they finished more than twice what Goku had done before. By the time they ran out of sheets of metal, they had the dome almost completely done. Only one 20 foot section remained to be placed. 

"We'll need to find some more sheet metal," Goku said. "I usually raid the city for those. You can come with me."

Flying out into the city, both of them scanned around for more of what they needed. It didn't take a very long time with two of them looking. Down in an old factory, there was a bunch of sheet metal underground. Unfortunately, it was completely submerged, and they couldn't take it out, so Goku blasted off the entire factory and they moved down into it to collect the metal.

"This whole city is weakened pretty badly," Goku explained. "Don't put very much power into a blast if you want to destroy a building."

"Is that 17 and I's fault too?"

"The android's fault," Goku said firmly. "But yes, it is. Watch out though. Even our small disturbances can knock them over; they're barely standing already. See what I mean?"

One giant skyscraper slowly tipped over and fell, rumbling with a terrible roar while it plunged down. Goku tossed aside sheet metal until he found a type that was the same as the ones they had already built the dome out of. Looking back, he smiled. The building had fallen on 18, but he hadn't been worried. Now 18 was holding up all eighty stories of solid metal and concrete.

"What should I do with this?" she asked, taking one hand off to brush back a strand of blond hair.

"Toss it back there at our shield. We'll see if it holds."

Turning, 18 threw the entire thing like a missile towards the metal dome. Goku winced; he hadn't meant that hard, but now they'd see if the dome could hold up. The giant skyscraper crashed into the dome. Both 18 and Goku held their breaths a moment, and it splintered against the wall of metal. The entire building was destroyed and both of them let out the air they had been holding.

"This should be good enough." Goku carried the sheets across his back. They both flew back to the house, landed and started measuring the sheets of metal. It took them only a short amount of time to form the final 20-foot piece and add it to the dome. The entire thing was now complete. Goku smiled, seeming proud of himself.

"You did well back there," he said, glancing over at 18. She just nodded. Goku flitted back down into the house and found his plans for the alloy. He had planned to cover the house with it, but with the dome in place, he'd just cover the dome. That would mean he needed more, but that was okay, there wouldn't be any shortage of resources.

18 flew off into a city and came back an hour later, carrying a giant metallic bin over her shoulder. From what he could see, it was intended for use with heavily radioactive materials. It would work. Goku nodded, then they tossed all the girders he had chosen into it. Floating above it, Goku drew in a deep breath, then blew it out in a stream of fire that started melting the metal to scrap. 18 tossed more into as it got smaller. 

Taking another breath, Goku saw that the tub was almost completely full. Concentrating his energy, Goku blew out a wide band of blue fire that melted all the scrap into a slowly moving liquid. Lifting the tub carefully, Goku flew it up over the dome.

"Freeze this as it comes down," Goku instructed 18, who floated down below. Goku began to pour the liquid at the top of the dome. As it slowly flowed down, 18 used a bit of ki to remove all warmth from her breath, then blew on it and froze it into its place. When the tub was done, Goku threw it aside, demolishing a building. Landing on the metal, he quickly floated off again. It may have been hard, but it was freezing cold as well.

"So are we done?" 18 asked.

"Not quite," Goku shook his head. "We need to make it stronger first. I intend to do that by tempering it with high and low temperatures alternately. The process was more acidic than I thought, we'll need another of those bins. This was only the first load; we'll cover the inside too."

They continued working, and finally got the entire project done by noon. Goku had a quick, if large, lunch by taking stuff out of the abandoned stores and then they both headed back to the house. As soon as they were back, Goku left to go train some more, but returned a while later after he'd finished. Landing, Goku went to his room and closed the door. 18 went to hers.

Sitting on her bed, 18 started thinking about 17, her brother. He had defied Goku, threatening Earth. Why did Goku care that much for everyone on the planet? They had been nothing but cruel to him, why did he protect them? She couldn't answer the question, so she moved on. But 17 had gotten one choice, and one chance. He could follow his own way, or Gero's way. Of course, being the arrogant idiot he was, he had chosen Gero's way.

That had been a mistake. 18 still remembered Goku vanishing. The next thing her eyes had registered was Goku standing there, having punched 17, who was flying backward, falling apart and burning to pieces. What a small decision to make, and Goku had instantly eradicated him. With a single punch.

That still amazed her. She knew that compared to most, the androids had all been very powerful. She had been just as strong as her brother, with 16 just a bit stronger, but Goku had destroyed both of them like they were nothing. If Goku decided that 18 was a threat, would he destroy her too? She didn't know. But she did know that if so, she was history. She couldn't fly fast enough to escape Goku, and no one on Earth would be very happy to see her.

What went on inside those slanted eyes? 18 knew that her own eyes were different than most peoples', but Goku's were something completely different. They almost seemed to glow, energy flowing off them. When Goku wasn't in a good mood, the eyes radiated pain and sorrow. Those same eyes blazed with an unnatural light when he was angry. Something had happened to him that had changed him; his picture in Gero's files still had wider eyes. What had happened?

18 continued sitting there, contemplating things. Goku scared her, but there was something about him that seemed to contradict her fear. He had been willing to comfort her after she had escaped from Cell. He had rescued them from the biological mess instead of just eliminating them with Cell. But every time she thought of 17, she remembered Goku and the hard look in his eyes...

  
  


Landing, Goku let himself down to the ground and sat, his back to a tree. He didn't bother glancing up. She was there, he knew it. Of course, she didn't know he was aware of her presence, but that was alright. The only reason he had gone here was to prove a point. To show her something.

Why, he wondered? Did he think it was going to change something? Maybe he was trying to show her the truth about humanity. For better or for worse, he was here. There was no point in turning around.

Shouts. People yelling. He thought he heard the word 'saiyan' somewhere. Well. Now it really was too late. Opening an eye, Goku watched the swiftly growing mob running across the field toward him. How did they always find him so fast? It seemed like every time he neared the city, he got mobbed by people. For the first time, however, that was what he wanted to happen.

A foolish strike, he realized. They had to run across an entire field. Even if he had used nothing but a gun, he could have killed them all. As it actually was… Goku brushed the thoughts aside. All they wanted was to kill him. They weren't thinking.

Gunfire. Someone was armed this time. A group of them. Raising a hand, Goku sent a flurry of ki that batted the first storm of bullets aside. Pushing his power further, he wrapped it around the weapons. Bending his finger, he crumpled the firearms, leaving them nothing but metal. After a moment of surprise, they came on.

Determination, that was one thing they had. Also known as stubbornness. Even now, they were nearing him. At least they kept their distance once they got within throwing distance. So they weren't complete idiots. Scooping rocks off the ground, the mob began attacking him.

Sighing, Goku allowed the rocks to strike him. Most fell to the ground, a few crumbled into dust. Let them throw rocks. Wherever 18 was, she would see. Maybe this would get across a very important point. In any case, he might as well do something with the time he had been given.

"What have I ever done to you?" he asked simply, amplifying his voice so they could all hear him. They didn't stop throwing. For lack of anything better to do, he began listening to their calls.

"Saiyan!"

"Die!"

"You killed my father!" Instantly Goku zeroed in and located the person who had said that.

"I had nothing to do with it. If I hadn't done anything, those same saiyans would have come after all of you as well."

"Liar!"

"You're a killer!" Well. At least they were responding to him. Small steps.

"If not for me," he told them, "Cell could not have been stopped. You all would have died slow and gruesome deaths. How can you say this?"

They continued, undaunted by logic. But since when was logic ever a match for a mob? Ignorance was one of the greatest powers known to man. Usually, this barely got to him at all. He was used to it by now.

For some reason, this time got under his skin. Not sure why. Maybe because all of his other feelings had been pushed aside while he had been fighting to save the world. In any case, they were annoying him.

Slamming a fist into the ground, Goku drove it in nearly a foot, sending cracks all across the ground. Some of the tension was gone. Getting up, he glanced back at the people, a sad smile on his face. Control had returned.

Raising a hand, he sent ki blanketing out into the area. At the right moment, he tightened. Rocks froze in midair, coming no closer to him. The people gaped, a few more threw rocks. Across the field, Goku glanced at all of them, trying to get as many individual gazes as possible. Somehow, the mob quieted.

Teleporting out, Goku allowed the rocks to drop into the field below. They clattered to the ground, and there was a moment of silence before outrage broke out once again.

  
  


Looking below, 18 considered. Goku hadn't been lying. They all hated him. How could they possibly hate so much? Then she remembered Gero. It was possible. She was a living reminder that it was possible. Gathering energy, she flew back toward the house.


	22. Episode XXI: Interlude

A smart "portrayal" of Goku, huh? Heh. You speak truth about the manga, but it is not entirely Funimation's influence. However, in this story there are forces working that you cannot possibly be expected to understand yet. 

  
  


This chapter feels abrupt, and I'm uncertain as to why. It has been in the plan since the beginning, and I'm uncertain as to how I would do it less so. But ah well. And if you desperately feel the urge for battling (sigh...) the next chapter will probably make you happier.

  
  


-

  
  


"What?" 18 asked, glancing at Goku, who stood outside her door. "You want me to spar with you?"

Goku just nodded, arms casually crossed, leaning against the wall.

"Why me? You could wipe me out in a second, I saw what you did to 17." Her tone was slightly bitter.

"Name one other person on this planet who can even make me even breath hard."

18 remained silent for a moment. "Point taken. Unless you want to train with the most powerful man in the world for a change?"

Goku smiled slightly, but even that slight smile seemed to lift his mood. "Oh, yeah. That guy with a power level of five?"

"Sure, I'll spar with you." 18 got up off the bed and followed him into the training chamber adjacent the house. It had been cleared of everything, except a gravity machine that sat at one end of the room. It was currently off.

"I'll be lowering my ki," Goku explained. "I won't be overpowering."

"Good." Now at least she wasn't going to get blasted to pieces in one punch. Goku's energy blazed around him, then dimmed and was absorbed back in. 18 felt his energy and was surprised to see how much it felt like his real power. He was good at faking it.

Leaping forward and catching him off guard, 18 delivered a kick to the jaw that sent him into the wall. Walking up it faster then she had anticipated, he darted down, hitting her with his knee. 18 bounced back and faced off again, ready for his next move. Since he had done nothing, she leaped again. This time Goku jumped up, pulling his feet just over her head. 18 quickly got off a back kick that sent him down, but Goku used it as leverage to knock her into the wall.

They continued fighting, neither with much of an expression on their faces. Goku didn't appear threatening, but he fought in a manner that reeked with pure, cold deadliness. She would panic, almost sure he would suddenly flare up and destroy her. But every time she felt her panic rise, all she had to do was look into his eyes. Those ethereally perfect, slanted eyes that held so much. Every time, the look was friendly and not as harsh as she had seen it. Every time, she felt better. Those eyes were nothing like the ones that had destroyed 17.

Striking at him again, 18 stumbled back as his hand whipped up in a fast block. Goku grabbed her wrist and flung her up onto the ceiling, just gentle enough not to break it, then waited for her again. They started circling, waiting for the other's next move...

  
  


18's Journal Date: 43.7.8

This is the start of a journal I am keeping. My thoughts are in turmoil, I hope this will help me sort things out. Everything is confusing, I'm not really sure what I'm doing. Everything continues as it has been for the past week. Goku and I have finished the dome, and are now getting lots of plants inside. Goku has some other plan for the dome, however. Every evening we spar again. Goku is really keeping himself down, I can tell. Still, he's always just a bit better than me, a constant reminder of his strength. I can't fight him long before he has to train by himself again.

And that is one of the problems I am facing. He doesn't scare me as much as he used to, and I think I've begun to understand his view of life in general. It's pretty dreary, but he always believes that he can make a difference and win out in the end. I wish I had his confidence.

And I still don't know what place I fit in here. It's Goku's home, but he doesn't seem to care if I'm here. He welcomes the extra set of hands to help, but what does he think otherwise? I don't really know, beyond the fact that I'm not one of his enemies. If I was, I wouldn't be in condition to be thinking it.

  
  


Goku's Journal Date: 49.1.9

I haven't been writing in my journal of recent times, with all that business with Namek, then Cell, but now I shall begin again. 18 and I finished the dome much faster than I had anticipated. She's a big help in general for all of my work. We have stopped our work collecting plants and are modifying the dome.

My new design involves a great deal of work, but it should be possible. The idea is to have the entire dome underground for most of the time, bringing it out only when needed. I am again thankful for the computer I found, as it can handle that easily. The ozone is showing signs of wear, but not enough to worry me. Eventually this strain will break it up, but not for a while, I think.

18 seems uncomfortable around me. I'm not sure exactly why, but I've been thinking on it. I have lots of time to think, as my nights have dropped now to three hours, and I need anything to break up endless training. I don't know what is happening to me, but I have yet to suffer from my short nights and am actually more energized the next day. I think that 18 is still nervous about my battle mind-set, which even I will admit is a bit harsh. I've tried to lighten up, but that's not my strong point. At least she doesn't look deathly afraid anymore.

We have been sparring every day after the work is done. If I dampen my power, I can get a pretty decent workout. It's been a very long time since that had happened. My power level has risen even higher, but I don't think 18's will. Somehow it is set at what it is. Maybe my comment to Gero convinced him to add this. I have been thinking on that as well, and I may have a solution.

Something is happening to my mind. I know in the past that I haven't been the smartest person on the planet, but I wasn't too dumb. At least, after the psychological barrier I'd put on myself was removed. But now I've found myself doing better and better. I can read well, at an increasing speed. There have been times I can read an entire book in just ten minutes. I can easily handle the computer, while I'm sure it would have baffled me years ago. There is a reason, and I'm not sure I can give all the credit to my mind recovering from my ignorance shield. Something is happening, and I can only keep observing.

  
  


18 got up and walked out of her room. Goku was already up, sitting in a chair reading something. He had a large stack of books on either side of him. That was curious, she hadn't known he was a very avid reader. Counting, she saw over twenty books total, five were on one side, already read.

"What are you reading?" 18 asked, picking up one book. "Biochemistry?"

"And quite a few others." Goku glanced up from his book; 18 started looking through the books.

"Life Processes, Biology, Robotics." 18 paused. "Dr. Gero's Guide to Artificial Entities?"

"Yes." Goku smiled humorlessly. "The old man wrote a few things. I've tracked down all these and am reading up on the subject."

"Why?" 18 asked, sitting down in the chair opposite him.

"Because I want to know." Goku sounded honest. "This sort of thing can prove useful."

"Can you find a way to change me back into what I was before?" 18 asked, getting excited. For once something seemed to be a reason to hope.

"Possibly." Goku nodded. "From what I've seen of Dr. Gero's work, it could be reversible."

"What would we need?"

"Pretty standard supplies, nothing I can't find. The actual procedure is pretty simple."

"Let me see." 18 held out a hand.

Leafing back through one book, Goku ripped out a few pages and handed them to her. 18 glanced at them, puzzled.

"This is way beyond me," 18 said. "I don't see how you understand that."

"I don't either," Goku said mysteriously, setting aside his book and picking up the next.

"Would you do it? How much time would that take up?"

"Quite a bit. That's okay though."

She looked at him a second, wondering what that was supposed to mean. Letting her in she could understand, but from the way he said it, this would probably take up a vast amount of his time. Before things got more confusing, she decided to take her leave.

"I'll just leave you alone to read," 18 said, floating up to the second floor. Goku waved goodbye absentmindedly.

Upstairs 18 practically collapsed into the chair in front of the computer. Be turned back into a human again? Then she could be accepted again. Was this really possible? Swiveling in the chair, 18 continued thinking on the subject. This seemed unreal that Dr. Gero's evil work could be undone, but it might be. Was she looking at her ultimate solution?

  
  


Goku's Journal Date:50.2.5

I have continued my research, as well as my building and training. The dome work is going slowly, but I think it will be complete by the end of the next month. That was better than my first estimate, at least. Training has continued to go well, but 18's power level cannot be raised, unless I find a way to change it.

Speaking of which, my research may have paid off the first time. I still am puzzling to solve the lock Dr. Gero has placed on the biological code. I must admit, the old man was a genius, if a bit cracked. However, I am making progress, like in all things, slowly but surely. But just today I have found something that may prove of use. It wasn't well protected, like it was an afterthought. I will present the idea to 18 and see what she makes of it. What to do from there, I don't know.

  
  


"18." He was standing by her door. She turned in surprise, not having even heard him approach.

"What?"

"I have just pierced the first layer of robo-genetics Dr. Gero created," Goku said, coming in. "And I have made one discovery. While I cannot yet change you back into a human, I can remove the lock on your power level. From there on, it could be raised."

"And?"

"The question is, do you want the operation to be done?" he was looking very serious. "You would need to be able to trust completely."

"Why?"

"Because," Goku said, looking a bit sad, "to do this, you would have to be turned off."

  
  


18's Journal Date: 50.23.9

This has put a whole new spin on things. I am not really sure what to think about it. I would like my power level to be able to be raised, but why? I don't really know either. Cell is defeated, there isn't much more left for me to fight. But Goku seems to be prepared for something new to come up, so I suppose I have a reason there.

But there is a much larger problem. Me being turned off? The thought sends chills through the very marrow of my bones (if I have marrow). What would really happen? Would it be like sleep, or would I just cease to think? I asked Goku, and he said that he didn't know. If I found someone I really trusted, I might be able to stand it. 

And that is the last problem. Who can I trust, really? No one doesn't hate me but Goku, and I can't shake the feeling that this is a ploy to destroy me. I know that if he wanted to do that, he could have already, but my mind is becoming steadily more irrational and less calculating by the day. I need to get out of this mindset. 

18 put down the pen she had been writing with. What else was there to write now, really? It was late, but she didn't really need to sleep. And tonight, she needed some time to organize her thoughts, which were still stormy and unclear.

Getting up, she glanced at the clock. Almost midnight. Floating a few inches off the floor, 18 floated out of her room. Moving down the hall a bit, she looked through Goku's door. He was sleeping peacefully, on his back, facing the ceiling. Both eyes were closed, looking slanted even now. Even in sleep he was frowning slightly. 18 considered it all a moment, just floating there, watching him. Gazing at him a second, 18 realized she wouldn't be threatened by this creature. Floating back into her room, 18 made her decision.

  
  


Goku woke up only a short while later, shrugging off the dream he had just ended. Everyone dying, again. Despite that, he felt totally rested and glanced at the clock. Midnight, that made for a two-hour night. Getting up, he walked out of his room and floated upstairs. Moving to the computer, he began to get ready for the operation. Something inside him told him that 18 would somehow make a decision and that he should be ready when that happened.

Fly from the building for a while, Goku dropped by a hospital to pick up one of their beds. This was going to take a few neuros, so he started collecting materials for those as well. He made three and connected them to the main computer. It didn't accept them until Goku did some serious reprogramming. Then he needed a main conduit. Goku grabbed a book from below and started looking at Dr. Gero's designs. The doctor had the right idea, but he needed to change a few things.

Building off that, Goku built his main reactor and added a generator. Dr. Gero's ran at 90% efficiency; with a few tweaks, Goku was able to get it up to 98%. The doctor wasn't the best at everything. Moving around, Goku began setting things up. He left to collect a few tools.

High above the Afterlife, Dai Kioshin ground his heels into the ground angrily, crushing the tiny blue flowers that sprouted up beneath him. Things had not been going as planned; they had strayed ever since that Namek came on the scene. Every new event that was happening was taking things further from the course he had planned. How had it gone so wrong?

"This is an interesting development, Master," his apprentice spoke.

"Yes," Dai Kioshin growled, "it is. If he continues at this rate, Evil will never come!" And that would ruin him forever.

"I don't understand. Do we not want to prevent the come of Evil?"

"A mis-speak, my young apprentice, a slip of the tongue." His apprentice took that at face value. Luckily for him, too. That had been a close call, his plan had almost been given away there. He sent his apprentice to round up a few beings in the Afterlife. A few certain ones that could help him win this war, once he pulled out his next card. He still had a few aces up his sleeve yet.

Piccolo sat above him, smiling as Dai squirmed. If his apprentice had half a mind about him, he'd figure it out soon enough. You want all the power for yourself, don't you, Kioshin? Piccolo thought, smiling. You don't like that anyone other than Evil or the Legendary One can beat you. You don't like that a simple saiyan who had nothing but determination will become more than you and have what you never will.

But this was an interesting development. It appeared that Dai was pulling out the big guns. This was one of his largest attacks yet, the largest if you weren't counting the disease. Piccolo breathed deeply and brought himself to a complete calm. If he did this right, he could grab a hold of the coattails of Dai Kioshin's energy. Then maybe he could talk to Goku again; that would be most beneficial.

  
  


Goku had been training for a while when 18 appeared by the door. Stopping himself in mid flip, Goku righted himself and turned to her. He was pretty sure he knew what she was going to tell him, if not how she had come to a conclusion. That detail still puzzled him.

"Goku," 18 said nervously. "I have decided to have the operation. Could you do it?"

Goku blinked, this was unexpected. As he thought about it, he should have guessed, though.

"Yes, I could."

"Would you?"

"Yes."

18 nodded. "What happens now then?"

Goku didn't answer, he just floated up to the second floor, and 18 followed. Everything was ready and waiting. Though he had anticipated soon, he hadn't expected this soon. Luckily, it had been fairly easy for him to find an acceptable set of tools while looking around the city.

"As soon as I press this button," Goku gestured to a red one he'd installed, "you turn off if you're touching the blue panel beneath it. Are you ready?"

18 nodded and gently touched the panel. 

"Then goodnight, 18," Goku touched the button lightly. 18's eyes closed and she fell. Goku caught her, and, a bit nervous at holding her, shifted her on the bed and attached all three neuros to her head. Tapping lightly at the keyboard, the computer began doing what it was supposed to do. Goku steepled his fingers and watched closely, making sure every detail was as it should be. At last the computer finished, and the transdemensionalizer behind him started grinding. 

Turning, Goku saw the metallic orb appear, a collection of hundreds of metals. Pulling his tools closer, Goku pulled out a laser scalpel and began working. This was going to take a few hours; it was a tiring process. He wrenched open one socket and gently pulled out a chip from his case with a tweezers and inserted it. Taking a flame, he put it by the chip and started imbedding it into the metal.

While the flame burned, Goku glanced over at 18, looking peacefully asleep. Those eyes, so much like his, did they mean that she understood the truth like he did? No, 17's eyes had been the same type of slant, and of all people he didn't understand the truth. Dr. Gero must have merely made his androids that way. Glancing back, Goku realized the chip was almost welded in place.

Checking another slot, he opened it and started working on the circuitry already there. He flipped the chip over and checked the back. Not good, this wouldn't do. However, he had been prepared for this. Swirling in the chair, he put the chip into his computer and started the recharging process. Waiting, he glanced back over his shoulder at 18 a second.

It was odd, she hadn't really changed from the 18 that had destroyed so much. In a way, it was still the same person. Taking the chip out, he inserted it and continued his work. No, he decided, it was the same personality, a different person. Still a personality that destroyed and killed, but a person who wouldn't do so. That was it, same personality, different person. But, he realized, it was a personality that struck him in a strange way. It was something that he could deal with.

Reaching over, Goku pulled out another chip. This was the one that would take the longest. He inserted it into the computer and started downloading the information. He turned and looked at the metal orb. So fragile to be a person, it was amazing how dangerous it would be for even the smallest drop to occur. A life was in his hands. If he did even the slightest thing wrong, 18 would most likely die.

Looking down at the scalpel in his hands, Goku suddenly felt his head swim.

They are monsters, fit only to be destroyed. Goku winced, why would he remember Trunks' words now, of all times? But then he realized that he wasn't remembering. He was hearing.

They'll destroy everything you know if they are not stopped. Vegita's voice this time. Other voices joined in, Goku found himself drifting away from himself. There was a brilliant flash, and when he could see again, he was standing on a red plane of existence. Before him slowly materialized some of the people he knew. Trunks, Gohan, Vegita and all the others. Piccolo was the only absentee.

"So you're living with an android now?" Vegita asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "How long will it be before that pretty hand of hers folds into a fist?"

"I don't know about you, Vegita," Goku murmured, barely keeping his calm around him, "but she can't actually hurt me. Are you still sore where she tore out your tail?"

"She'll pay for that, someday," Trunks said, his voice slightly warning.

"I'm sure." Goku rolled his eyes. "You guys were crushed."

"We are the Legendary Super Saiyans!" both Vegita and Trunks cried at the same time. Goku laughed, thinking how alike they seemed. He played along with this strange game in which he didn't even know the rules.

"In no way. I can become a Super Saiyan too, that means nothing. There is a level beyond Super Saiyan that is stronger yet. You guys can't fathom the power the Legendary Super Saiyan would have, much less the Legendary One himself."

The conversation continued on, Goku stopping everything they said in the same way. But he was still puzzled, what was happening?

  
  


Dai Kioshin pounded on his chair angrily. It just wasn't working. He had them all attacking the saiyan, and he was trying his best to pry into his mind, but the saiyan was strong. No matter what he wouldn't relent. It seemed as though the android would live, despite whatever they tried to do.

After pondering making one of them alive again, Dai Kioshin threw out that idea. It was too slow. There wasn't going to be any way they could get this to work. Their talk was slowing now as his power ebbed. Goku's resolution was firm that 18 was not a threat. Shoot! Why did he have to know the truth so well? Cursing, Dai Dioshin got up and started pacing around.

  
  


"Once I told you that Frieza killed all the saiyans by destroying planet Vegita," Vegita himself said. "But I just found out I was wrong. There are a lot of saiyans in the Afterlife, needless to say, and they told me the truth."

"Which is that the androids destroyed the entire planet," Trunks finished, smiling at their ace in the hole. "Dr. Gero's first hatred was always of saiyans, after you defeated him. 17 and 18 were still his strongest creations then, and he sent them to mop up the entire planet. And they did, very quickly. If not for planet Vegita's destruction, you would still be among friends. Are you going to care about someone who did that?"

"I can believe you." Goku was a bit shaken up for the first time, but the statement didn't seem false. "Because somehow I know it's true. But I don't believe about the rest of it. If you aren't in control of yourself, you can't be held responsible for your actions." It echoed of Piccolo's words long ago. That was what he had meant. Those words had been meant for now.

"Don't you ever worry that she'll go on another killing spree?" Chou-su asked. Goku shook his head.

"Every time I see her asleep, I look at her face and realize I'm not looking at a machine. I'm looking at a person."

"She hasn't changed," Tien added in. "It's the same person. She's still as likely to rip people to pieces."

"If she rips people like you guys, I don't think I'd mind that much."

"Where has your sense of morals gone?" Goku was surprised Vegita still remembered that about him.

"You lecture me on morals? What morals?" Goku almost laughed, and the thought occurred to him that incessant laughter was one of the first signs of madness. "How can you define that? I sort of like that destructive side."

"So you can love an emotionless killing machine?" Gohan yelled, striking the final blow. Goku stumbled back at the choice of words, but continued on, firm in his position. Did his son understand a bit of truth that he wouldn't believe himself? Did he honestly love 18? Goku covered his emotions with a flippant air.

"Who are you to talk about her killing people?" Goku said mockingly. "I've said before that she wasn't ever in control of herself. Can we say the same for you, Vegita?"

Vegita was about to reply, something that looked like a four-letter word starting with a consonant, but he suddenly faded. They all faded, leaving Goku alone on the red plane. He fell down to his knees. It had hurt, seeing them all there. Seeing them all work against them. Goku wasn't even sure what he was doing, defending 18 like that. His thoughts were in serious turmoil, he wasn't sure what he felt anymore. Had his son been right? If so, he needed to rethink a few things. But did 18 love him back?

Suddenly the plane around him turned black. Piccolo materialized in front of him where the others had been.

"Goku." Piccolo's voice was soft. "I can't stay here long, I'm just using Dai Kioshin's energy to meet you. He was trying to get you to destroy 18, if you haven't already guessed. You're the first person who had ever defied his attempts at complete mind control, congratulations."

"So why was he trying so hard?" Goku asked, getting up to smile at Piccolo.

"I can't really tell you," Piccolo said. "It's part of his plan. Another part we've thwarted."

Suddenly Piccolo wavered and got a bit more transparent.

"His energy is ebbing." Piccolo's voice was softer. The two clasped hands again.

"Just in case he tries again," Piccolo added, "don't worry about 18 killing anyone. She's just as likely to go on a killing spree as you are, if you know what I mean."

"Goodbye, my friend," they both said at the same time. Piccolo vanished, his hand becoming energy, then fading away. A second later, Goku blinked out in another blinding flash of brilliant light.


	23. Episode XXII: Interlude

Look. Plot development. Mr. T pity the foo' who wants nuthin' but fightin'. In any case, destiny, and thus this entire situation, is going to get put on hold for a while, due to an outside force. And there will be more fight scenes, though far fewer than usual. Also, this next plot arc is one of my favorites. Thanks to everyone who reviewed.

  
  


-

  
  


Vegita and the others materialized back in the Afterlife. Piccolo was waiting for them, hovering with a slight smirk on his face.

"So, how'd it go?" he asked innocently.

"Don't say anything," Vegita growled, marching past him. Piccolo smiled.

"Embarrassed that Goku has what you don't?"

"Kakkarrot will never be better then me!" Vegita roared, powering up. Trunks and Gohan both flanked him, powering up as well. All three of them went Super Saiyan and flew toward him. Despite himself, Piccolo was a bit intimidated at having three Super Saiyans all charge him at the same time.

But not for long. Zipping to the side, he rammed Trunks off course, then held up a hand, Vegita ran into it and fell to the ground. Whirling around, Piccolo clothes-lined Gohan. Vegita came at him again, Piccolo leaped over him entirely and brought his feet down on his back. Vegita was down for the count.

Trunks tried a head butt from behind, and seriously hurt his head on Piccolo's back. The Namek grabbed him and hurled him by his father. Just then Piccolo heard Gohan, who was standing behind him.

"Masenko!"

The beam flew from Gohan's hands and sped toward Piccolo. Holding out one hand, Piccolo knocked the beam aside. Rushing forward, he kneed Gohan in the stomach and tossed him with the others. Smiling at their repetitive stupidity, Piccolo went back to Dai Kioshin's place to train.

Glancing up, Goku saw he was resting, head in his arms, on the computer desk. It was blinking, the chip was done being programmed. Getting up and stretching, Goku struggled with what had happened in the red plane as he added the last chips to the orb.

He glanced at the scalpel in his hand a second, which could have killed a person, then tossed it out the door. Pressing the blue button beneath the transdemensionalizer, he waited as the orb vanished. When it was gone, power began coursing through the neuros, flooding into 18. This would take a few minutes. Goku waited patiently. He could wait, he had waited most of his life. But most of his life he hadn't had thoughts like these either.

Rubbing his eyes, Goku realized there were tears in them. Wiping them off, Goku looked back at 18. Yes, he was forced to say love. But were his feelings returned? Goku sighed and waited. What sort of thoughts were these going through his mind? He needed to clear himself before she awoke.

  
  


18 felt energy flowing into her. She felt totally energyless, but the power was revitalizing her. She didn't feel very different, but it must have succeeded. Goku was standing by the foot of her bed, smiling down at her. 18, feeling better now, took off the neuros at Goku's nod.

"So, did it work?" she asked.

"Yes." Goku nodded. "Your power level can be raised now. But we had some unexpected surprises in the meantime."

"Like what?"

"Oh, Vegita and a few old friends of mine dropped by to pay a call. They were trying to get me to destroy you, but they failed."

"Oh, that's good."

"Yes." There was a pause, then Goku spoke again.

"More importantly," he was instantly completely serious, "I have to ask you a question."

"What is it?"

"During the two-year period, did you and 17 destroy planet Vegita?"

She stumbled, her mind screaming hundreds of contradictory messages at her from every direction. How did he suddenly know about that? There was no possible way, and yet it seemed that he did. The thought briefly occurred to her to lie, but she instantly decided against it. Let whatever was going to happen happen.

"Yes," the words barely escaped her mouth. Goku just nodded and started to turn away.

"Are you angry?"

He didn't turn, but his voice did have its usual bitter quality, "No. There is an end to all things, and I suppose that it would have happened eventually. Ironic that the saiyans, a race who made a living committing genocide and selling planets, would find themselves entirely wiped out. I can imagine their horror at having two warriors destroy all of them. But I suppose they're all gone, now."

"Not all gone," 18 said, on a split-second whim. Goku looked back at her, and for a second his eyes seemed to clear, and he nodded, turning away once more.

"Not all...," he murmured softly, walking away. "And where there's life there is hope. For new beginnings..."

Walking from her field of vision, he didn't turn back. She wasn't sure if she had been helpful or damaging, but she thought that he was thankful. Bending down she looked at something on the ground, something that shone softly. There was a drop of clear, nearly crystalline saltwater. It gleamed brightly a second, and 18 smiled. 

  
  


18's Journal Date: 55.20.4

Things have been interesting around here ever since the operation. Goku has continued his research, but the man he's going up against is the most brilliant genius the world had known, and saiyans aren't noted for intelligence. Still, this stuff is way beyond me, and he seems to understand it- well, the operation succeeded, didn't it? This next one will be a lot more difficult, according to him, though, he says the first was child's play. For now, however, this one has done enough, as I'm already considerably stronger.

Goku seems to be immersing himself in his work. For some reason, there's a lot on his mind. At training sessions, his eyes are locked just beyond me, off into the distance at nothing in particular. He still wins. But something is on his mind, and he isn't sharing it. He seems determined not to look at me.

During the day, I don't really have anything to do, now that our dome is underground. Goku sits there and reads when he isn't training, so I've been trying to think of what I should do. At last, I've come up with a solution. I need to watch how humans act in general. Goku says that he is not a very good example, and the only humans still alive on the planet are in the city.

Not that I'm ready to go into the city yet. But my idea will get me there. I intend to sneak into the city and watch from the building tops, I don't know if it will help. If I never observe how normal people act, though, how could I ever get back into normal life again?

  
  


The rock crumbled under 18's feet as she attempted to leap off the large rock face. Instantly switching to flying, she none-the-less wasted the time Goku needed to fly closer to her. She launched a punch quickly, and Goku caught her fist. To her surprise, however, he blinked and let go gently.

"What?" she asked, puzzled. Goku shook his head.

"I hadn't considered this. Drop to ground level, we need to talk about punching."

After landing on ground level, she asked, "Now what is this? You have me curious."

"I'll explain." Goku nodded patiently. "There is a distinct art to punching."

"Really?"

"Yeah, you haven't had to worry about it until now. Before, your fist was made to do damage at the level at which you were hitting. Now that you're getting stronger, things are going to be a bit different, and you'll have to adapt your style to best use your new power."

"So what am I doing wrong?"

"The technique is called the soft fist," Goku explained, holding out his hand to demonstrate, "if you clench your fist tightly you actually weaken the overall power of the blow. Letting it stay loose does the most physical damage, reduces strain on your own hand, and works best for your flow of ki."

"Seems simple enough."

"Because of how you were created, it will probably be relatively easy for you to figure out. But that doesn't necessarily mean you've instantly mastered it. Observe this."

Goku closed his eyes and did absolutely nothing for a while. Remaining completely silent, 18 waited to see what he was trying to accomplish. Nearby them, a butterfly began to float by softly. Goku's hand shot out and closed gently around the butterfly. Briefly he opened his fist to show her the butterfly. She nodded, curious. Forming a fist, Goku turned to the rock pillar. Then he punched forward, and his blow leveled the entire rock formation. Turning back to her, he opened his hand.

She had to force herself not to gasp as the unharmed butterfly fluttered its wings a few times and then flew away. Goku smiled.

"That was a true soft fist."

"I'm impressed."

"It shouldn't be a problem teach it to you. You won't be ready to do something like that for a while, but we have all the time we need. Right now, you have so much raw potential, and untapped power from our earlier training. I think that with a bit of time, we should be able to unlock a lot of that."

"I hope so."

"Alright then." Goku slid away, dropping into a fighting stance in the same motion. "Let's get started."

  
  


Goku's Journal Date: 60.4.2

I have continued working on Dr. Gero's genetic lock, and I feel that I am making progress. The doctor has so many holes and dead ends in his work that it seems that he has it set up to work against outsiders. Either that, or possibly he just wasn't smart enough to fix it? I get ahead of myself. Dr. Gero was, without a doubt, the most brilliant, if twisted, man on Earth. Or woman; he was probably marginally smarter overall than Bulma.

But I know that I'm just working to keep my mind off things in real life. Things are so much simpler when there is a solid enemy to fight, nothing is this complex. I long for the simple life I once had, but I know that I don't really want it. Living in a lie was much worse than a painful truth.

Gohan's last comment is still disturbing me. Love? Yes, unfortunately. Only by keeping myself imbedded in my work and not thinking about real life can I avoid the subject in my own mind. It's painful: Gohan may have done far more damage than he could ever know. How does this sort of thing come to pass? I never intended anything like that, but in all this time it sort of just materialized. Or perhaps, was transformed from our friendship. Right now I'll concentrate my small intellect on the task at hand.

My training with 18 is going well. Actually, my own power is nearing its next plateau. I might have to stop my research to break into the next level. What I refer to is the progress that 18 has made. Now that we are training in earnest, her skill and power have made incredible jumps. 18 has been sneaking around the city to view a bit of human culture. This surprised me, but actually it does make a minor amount of sense. She wants to know what humans are like before I change her back into one. I could have answered that question for her already, but she wouldn't like the answer I'd give. Even if it's true...

Eventually she'll run face to face with the evil on this planet, and that will have an effect on this balance, for good or for evil...


	24. Recap B

What has gone on before...

After recovering from the Dai Kioshin induced heart disease, Goku is stronger than ever. It quickly becomes apparent, however, that even Dr. Gero's destruction will not bring about an end to the chaos, and there is greater evil yet in the world. This takes form in the being known as Cell, who is desperate to reach his own completion. His search is severely hampered by an out-break of new androids, the origin of which is uncertain, and motives unclear. In the ensuing battle, Goku becomes something new, becoming part-android.

Though Cell reached his Perfect form, he unwittingly triggered Goku's transformation to Super Saiyan 2 and, consequently, his own destruction. With Cell out of the way, the world returns to what is more or less peace once again. The lone surviving android is 18, who is left alone and completely uncertain as to what to do.

Without any other hold on life, 18 joins Goku in his wasteland home. It is evident, however, that dark forces will accumulate again, and that the stakes in the overall battle have been raised.

  
  


Characters

Goku: continuing to become more powerful, Goku has gone to the next level. But he's also changing, in ways that he cannot comprehend. Though he continues to protect Earth, he also struggles with his evolution.

  
  


Piccolo: playing little role in the recent conflict, Piccolo none-the-less continues to play a role in the greater conflict. As Dai Kioshin grows more desperate, his role will become more important.

  
  


Dai Kioshin: angry at Goku for defying him, Dai Kioshin is ready to take the gloves off. If he can help it, Goku will accomplish nothing.

  
  


Android 18: now the only surviving android. Despite her coldness, she is wise enough to take Goku's offer at life. Being rejected by the rest of society, she lives in the same house as Goku. 18 is very confused about what she intends with her future.


	25. Episode XXIII: Android World

Sweat ran down Goku's back and through his already drenched gi as he dropped to the ground. Making his way to a nearby tree, he held himself up on it and allowed his screaming muscles to take a rest. He was sore all over, but it was a good sore, the type that only came after an all-out workout. At last he had attained complete mastery over all of his new power, which meant his ability was at its peak. Now the only feasible next step was to get even more power, one way or another.

That could wait. Goku slid down against the tree and let his breathing slow to a more normal pace. While more power was always needed, it was great to be in complete balance. Closing his eyes, Goku allowed himself to relax, let his ki regenerate. It had been completely spent; he doubted he could fly if he wanted to.

His eyes snapped open as he felt a ki. That alone was cause for concern, since the only other person in the nearby area with any serious power was 18, and she couldn't be sensed that way. He stretched his long unused senses out to whatever it was and tried to get a feel on it. The very nature of its ki resisted him, but Goku was still one of the best, and after a while he got a feel for it.

Evil. That one word shot through his mind. There was something within this presence that spoke of a horrible wrongness. Cell or Frieza had felt evil, but not this spirit-pervading darkness. The word darkness also seemed to fit extremely well. Also, it was coming his way, with malicious intent obviously in mind. 

Considering his options, Goku remained sitting, not wanting to waste his strength. He didn't have enough energy to teleport to 18, and he wasn't up to flying, much less a chase. This thing was flying at a pretty high speed, and in his weakened condition he couldn't stay away from it five seconds. Could he contact 18 psychically? No, he decided, his efforts there had been mostly wasted. There was no question about if he would figure it out one day, but he needed something now.

So few options. He winced slightly, not liking what he thought of. Resigning himself, Goku closed his eyes and allowed the soothing calm of ki to surround him. There was then no choice but to fight. Silently he began to gather ki from the planet around him. While he waited, extending his perceptions out to the world, he sensed something else happening as well. It was a portal, he had no doubt about that in his mind. Right now it was closing, and it was that energy that had attracted his attention. Doing a swift calculation, Goku figured that the dark ki must have come from it. An interesting development. Already the portal was gone, and he had little time to wonder about it.

Wind roared in the distance as a figure rushed into his range of vision, a purple aura flashing about it. The instant it spotted him, Goku whipped all the energy he had collected from the planet into the fastest Spirit Bomb he had every created. Taken off guard, the creature was hit dead on by it. Slamming into an opposing cliff face, it fell to the ground, then seemed to nearly flow to its feet.

Goku shook his head. Because he had used the planet's energy instead of his own, he had been able to use a relatively powerful blast. There was no way he could do it again at close range, however, and his own energy was woefully inadequate. At least a bit of it had regained from his short rest.

His opponent did not attack, and Goku took the time to restore his energy, and to look his opponent over. A black mist swirled around the creature's feet, slowly creeping up the night-black body. Goku realized he actually saw only a bit of the creature, the rest was merely a lack of light his eyes filled in because of their lack of anything sensory. Something in the creature's nature absorbed the very light. What he saw, however, was vaguely human shaped. 

"Son Goku," it's voice seemed to come from nowhere, if anywhere it was from the two glowing green eyes where the creature's face was. Goku decided the voice seemed male.

"And who are you?"

"A... triviality." the creature seemed slightly amused. "You do not need to know."

"What are you doing?" His sixth sense told him not to trust this creature. The dark figure merely laughed.

"I should ask you. Weren't you the one who launched the attack? A casual flier could accidently get blasted around here."

Abruptly the creature's sentence ended and it moved, a blast of solid darkness flying from it. Goku summoned the strength to jump away from the beam, narrowly avoided the cold wave that swept past him. The tree he had been leaning against was simply gone.

"Don't be afraid for yourself." The green glow intensified. "I'd be more worried about the planet."

Gathering a bit more ki easily, the creature fired once more. This time the dark energy ripped through the ground, but it merely blasted all the surrounding rock, not the planet-destroying attack the creature had intended.

"You'll have to do better than that." Goku smiled slightly. "I've linked my ki into the planet's. As long as I live, it will too."

"An admirable move." The creature must have smiled, a shimmer appeared in his dark face. "But it hardly matters. My goal is to destroy this dimension, the planet is hardly a concern. And I can go through you first."

Instantly he flew forward, attacking with a skill Goku hadn't anticipated. Still, he was a bit too overconfident, and allowed Goku a split second too long of an opening. Goku had been slightly worried that his blow would do no damage, but it hit something solid and the dark form was knocked backward.

Leaping forward, Goku attempted to attack once again, but the darkness blocked his strike, and he quickly retreated to avoid the reversal that followed. Twisting backward, Goku avoided his opponent's next attack and struck him again, sending him flying.

His muscles screamed in protest as he drove them to attack again, smashing into his opponent multiple times, sending him flying backward. As the dark creature landed, he supported itself with one hand and held the other to his side, faint wisps of darkness leaked from him and into the atmosphere. Seeking to gain a bit more time, Goku smirked slightly and glanced at his opponent, keeping up a facade of strength.

"So anyway, how about telling me your name now?" Goku glanced at the creature, which hissed.

"You can call me Ebony. I have no need for real names."

Before Goku responded, Ebony suddenly stood, whatever damage had been done to him restructured, leaving his surface again a complete darkness. So he had been stalling as well. Goku leapt over his attack and slammed a foot into Ebony's head and used the momentum to vault himself into the air. He wasn't fast enough, and Ebony grabbed his ankle seconds before he reached safety.

Pulling downward, Ebony slammed Goku through the ground. Shaking off the damage, Goku fired a blast that forced the monster to let go of his leg. The blast drained out more of him than he would have liked to admit. Ebony attacked again, and by now Goku acknowledged he couldn't do this. His only hope was to finish the fight now.

Pouring his energy into a swift offensive, Goku forced his opponent backward and delivered many quick blows before his energy was spent. Getting to his feet, Ebony looked drained, but still very much alive. Goku groaned, then spent every last bit of his energy on a Kamehameha. He witnessed with horror the sight of Ebony avoiding the blast and arcing over it, slamming into him.

Falling backward, Goku felt pain explode through him as blow after blow racked his body. Eventually his survival instinct kicked in, and a wave a ki shot around him, slightly singing Ebony, who jumped backward. His momentary surge of power gone, Goku barely made it to his feet.

"Why do you fight? You cannot win." Ebony didn't attack, and Goku allowed him to continue speaking, every second his damaged body slowly healed. 

"You'll see."

"Maybe, but you won't. You have nothing to hope for. I know how fast you can heal, and I won't allow it."

"That's not why I'm fighting you."

"What do you mean?" 

"18 has surely felt our battle, and recognized my ki. She'll be here soon, and then you'll have to fight an opponent who is at full strength."

"She won't be here fast enough." Ebony smirked, no doubt surfaced in his mind, "but thanks for telling me your genius plan. I'm ending this."

He leaped forward, and Goku considered if he could dodge. Just as his muscles tensed, however, a shot blasted from over his shoulder and into Ebony, nearly taking his head off and sending him into the rock face nearby. Goku nodded to 18, who stood behind him, fingers smoldering.

"Who is this guy?"

"Something evil. Name's Ebony." The words were painful, but Goku didn't care. The battle was over now. "Pretty strong, but not enough. Caught me when I was weak. You should... have no problem."

"Right."

Ebony shattered the rocks around him and launched a beam of darkness, which splintered off of the shield that 18 erected. A second later she rushed forward, slamming a knee into his face. Flipping away, Ebony attacking viciously, but to no avail.

Turning aside blows, 18 briefly considered her position. It hardly mattered, her opponent wasn't strong enough to beat her, and Goku had apparently taken a bit out of him. Eventually Ebony's strength faded and his blows came slower as his energy dropped. Knifing her hand across his chest, 18 sent tendrils of misty black into the air. Falling backward, Ebony crashed to the ground. A second later he leaped into the air, catching her off guard and sending her flying. She was prepared to stop his follow up, but realized he instead zeroed in on Goku.

Just before he smashed into Goku, Ebony stopped as 18 ruptured a hand through his darkness. Blackness exploded around, and Ebony was flung over the ground, collapsing on the other side of the field. He slowly made it to his feet, and gathered darkness from the air to repair himself. From his position, Goku took the time to investigate further, and discovered something quite interesting. The darkness Ebony used came from the hate that enveloped the ki of the planet. There had to be a link between them.

Swiping a hand through the air, 18 sent a solid wave of air that buffeted Ebony back. He glanced at them once, then dove into the other direction. 18 began to give chase, but space seemed to open up before Ebony, and he was through a crackling purple portal before she could reach him. It flickered open in the air, and 18 glanced at it a moment before flying back to Goku.

"Are you alright?"

"Not really. I'll live, if that's what you mean."

"Good. What now?"

"We have to follow him."

"Is that safe?"

"Probably."

"No, I meant with you in this condition."

"Oh. No, not really, but it will close soon and we don't have another choice. You can protect me until I get better."

"Sure?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

Both leapt to the portal, which was already showing signs of shrinking. Barely making it inside on his own power, Goku was suddenly swept away as another force took control. 18 hurtled along beside him as they broke to a higher speed, then were surrounded by a darkness. For a brief instant there was nothing, and then a series of pale, luminescent rings formed around them in tunnel form. He realized there were some stray energies flying around, and he absorbed what he could. Not enough to rejuvenate him, but perhaps enough to restore some of his energy.

"What is this?" 18 asked from across the tunnel. Goku barely managed to twist to face her without anything to push off of.

"A portal to another dimension, at least that's what it looks like. I'm just speculating, but I'm guessing this is the gap between them. We're surrounded by unspace, or unreality, if you prefer."

"Will we be able to get back?"

"I don't know how as I am now, but I've done a study of the magics involved. In any case, I think I can figure it out, given a bit of time."

"Do you have any idea where we're going?"

"None." Goku shook his head. "But we'll follow Ebony there. Maybe that's where he comes from, or he might have just randomly thrown open a portal to escape. Either way, we're going to want to stay there a while anyway."

Beside them, if they could actually refer to anything as beside, something other than darkness appeared. Both struggled to face it more directly, just as it neared them. As it drew closer, Goku began to appreciate the immensity of it. It was a distance away from the tunnel of rings they were going through, but still quite large. Tendrils and whirls of a smoky substance fluttered around some sort of invisible core.

"What is that?" 18 was the first who managed to speak.

"It should be a dimension."

"You mean an alternate reality to our own?"

"Or perhaps we are a separate reality from whatever is real. But what is truly real?"

"Let's not get into that. What did you mean, it should be?"

"From what I've read, it should look more alive, all that's left is a shadow of a universe. As if it was somehow entirely destroyed. And I don't mean everything in it was vaporized. The very vacuum of that dimension is gone."

"How is that possible?"

"I have no idea. I didn't think it was."

Before they could ponder it further, the rings vanished again, and after the instant of profound darkness, they plummeted from the sky into a world once again. The portal closed behind them shortly, but Goku was more interested in slowing his fall and landing safely. 18 floated a few yards off the ground and glanced around them.

"There isn't any sign of Ebony, or anyone else."

"He was a ways ahead of us. But I haven't sensed another portal, he should still be here."

"Do you recognize this place?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure its Earth. The weird thing is, I can't sense anyone on it. There are a few odd kis here and there, but nothing like a race of people. And yet, there's activity like there are entire cities."

"Is it possible your ki sensing is being obscured?"

"I suppose. Can you sense anything?"

18 was still for a moment, then shook her head. "Exactly as you described it. However, I think the biggest center of activity is relatively close. Should we head there?"

"Sure. I'm strong enough to fly. Maybe there's a way for me to get healed there."

Lifting up to join 18, Goku flew off toward whatever it was. He wasn't really going very fast, and he didn't put up a ki shield, because he needed to conserve strength. As it was, wind whipped around him sharply, but he ignored it.

  
  


Ebony slipped through reality, hiding himself in another plane of the planet. This was a perfect place, so rife with hatred. The two of them may have followed him, but that was exactly what he had intended. Their own world was actually a normal one, and he couldn't do nearly what he could here. In this place, the very essence of matter strengthened his being. Already he was healed. Now to plan.

  
  


A mountain range blocked their view and both rose over it. They were immediately shocked by what lay before their eyes. An entire city sprawled on the other side of the mountains, lights rushing around inside it, energy being consumed and transferred. Yet in the entire thing, Goku felt only one ki. How was that even possible?

The thought occurred to 18 before he thought of it.

"What if everyone in that city really isn't living?"

"That's ridiculous..." Goku's voice trailed off, as 18 gestured to herself. "That's a crazy idea, but there has to be an explanation somewhere. My question is, how is that even possible?"

She shrugged. "I know nothing about this. Gero didn't either."

Something clicked in Goku's mind, and he thought back to the time when Cell had arrived.

"Back when Cell was here! There were a lot of androids that came from somewhere, and I never got an explanation of where. I had forgotten about it until now!"

"Really?" 18 cocked her head slightly. "You never told me about this."

"I didn't think it was worth the time. But maybe they came from here, in some sort of portal. That would explain how the one who claimed he wasn't created. How could there really be a world entirely full of androids?"

"Hmm. You know, you're right. This place doesn't feel correct, like there's something off about it. In theory it should be the same time of day as it was in our dimension, but I think it's a bit later. It's like this dimension was created by someone who didn't know what they were doing."

"Dimensions aren't created-" Goku stopped himself. "At least, I don't think they are."

"So what are we going to do?"

"Follow Ebony. He's probably hiding in the city somewhere with his power lowered. I don't know all of the special abilities that he might have. After we finish him, I suggest we stay here and figure out more about this."

"Shall we go?"

Goku nodded, and both of them descended, landing a ways away from the city. They entered, and Goku fought not to stare at the crowds around him. Bustling, vibrant, alive, but completely lacking a ki. Part of him was tempted to find out if they really were androids by taking one apart, but the rest of him snapped him out of something as ridiculous as that. Plus, his better side reminded him, if what you believe is true, they have all the rights anyone should have.

Scanning about in the same manner he did to find 18, Goku found that he did sense something now. Improbable as it seemed, maybe they were right about this. It would at least explain where all those other androids had come from. But who would have created them? From what he'd seen of Gero's work, he didn't think androids were actually capable of procreating, but then again, maybe these were far more advanced than Gero's androids.

They didn't actually seem all that powerful. After being around 18 so long, Goku had managed to develop a bit of sense of how powerful non ki-using entities were, and none of them seemed to really be warriors. So then, why had any of this began? Mentally shrugging, he devoted himself to searching for Ebony. This mystery could wait.

Something instantly caught his attention. A malicious intent, very close to them. It wasn't directed his way, but it reeked of Ebony. Either he was doing something there, or it was just something evil. Goku would have given a good bet that the two things felt nearly equal.

18's expression showed that she felt the same thing. They veered off toward what it felt like, carefully moving through the crowds. In the end, the trail took them to an extremely dark alleyway. Soon the sky was entirely eclipsed by the buildings overhead. Goku couldn't sense anyone further down, and he was about to ask 18 when a voice bit into the silence.

"Don't move or you're history!"

Focusing on the source, Goku purposefully used his heightened eyesight to look through the darkness. So here was the source of the problem. Two rough-looking androids had cornered three female ones, and all eyes were now fixed on the two of them, standing nearby. Most likely not what they were looking for, but then again, it did feel a lot stronger than just some mugging.

"Why?" 18 was of course ready to take off the nearest android's head.

"Listen to him!" One of the cornered androids called. "He has a gun!"

On one level, Goku allowed himself to be herded into the corner, and signaled 18 to do the same. Deeper, on his subconscious level, he was silently wondering. Even if these androids didn't have much power, a bullet couldn't actually deal that much damage. Why would they be worried about a gun? Maybe it was different, somehow.

"That's better," one of the men said gruffly. "Now back to business."

Whispering on a nearly inaudible level, Goku spoke to 18. "Let me do this. I can take their energy and heal myself."

She nodded nearly imperceptibly. In the next instant Goku hurtled forward, kicking away one of the attacker's guns and grabbing the other. The hand around the gun unconsciously shifted into the metal claw form and snapped the weapon in half. Lightly tapping one in the temple, Goku sent him reeling into a wall and grabbed the other. Slamming his forehead into his opponent's, Goku felt metal give way. Gripping him with his metallic hand, Goku drained all of his energy. Much better.

The other mugger staggered to his feet and attacked, whipping out a knife. Almost casually, Goku caught the blade and lightly tossed it to the side, a cuff knocking out his opponent. Holding him up, a few feet off the ground, Goku drained the rest of the android's energy and let him drop. He actually felt fine after doing that. 18 was leaning against the wall, looking almost bored. The three other androids were looking on in shock.

"Wow," one murmured. "I guess you're a warrior. I've never seen anything like that!"

"Thanks," another offered. Goku nodded, but then caught a fraction of something else. Ebony's presence had been trailed here, he could nearly sense him. When he closed his eyes and looked with ki-sight, he saw a trail leading somewhere. Perfect.

"I think I found something," he told 18 quickly. "I want to follow it up. Stay with them and figure out what's going on around here. We could well have more on our hands than Ebony."

"Sure."

With a wave, Goku launched into the air, leaving the four androids beneath him.

"Wow," one said again. "What make of android is he?"

"He's really good," the other muttered with a low whistle. "I should have thanked him."

"Yeah."

"Why'd he leave?" one of them finally turned to talk to her. 18 shrugged.

"He has something he needs to do. He'll be back."

"I see. Do you want to come with us?"

For an instant, 18 didn't respond, taken aback at the strangeness of the question. That was not something she thought she'd ever hear again. It was an odd feeling, not being the usual outcast. Shaking herself from her thoughts, 18 deigned to give them a slight smile.

"Sure."


	26. Episode XXIV: Android World

This is the next section, and I have relatively little to say about it. Other than to think my reviewers. Meanwhile, however, I have an announcement to make. I don't support shameless plugs, though, so I've warned you about it's presence. The page break with a hyphen will take you to the story.

  
  


If you haven't stopped reading, then here's what I was going to say. Though I initially intended to post only The Earth and I here on Fanfiction.net, in recent times my mind has been changed. This is due to a number of factors, but foremost at the moment is the fact that a good friend of mine is sponsoring a contest and is in desperate need of participants. So there is now a Trigun fanfiction from me as well. It will reach its course relatively quickly, it isn't anywhere near the length of this story. Also, I have a sequel planned and two other stories coming down the hatch. I'd warn you that I don't post unfinished stories, so it could be some time. However, if you're interested in reading more fanfiction by this author, you might want to add me to your Favorite Authors List and see what else I have from time to time. But you came here for the story, didn't you? 

  
  


-

  
  


Hovering along the line of dark energy, Goku slowly traced it further. Suddenly, the trail just stopped; there was no more in any direction. Floating around it, Goku considered for a second. Either Ebony had just vanished, or he had done something else. Maybe he had gone in a different direction, just on the fourth dimension instead of the normal three. Taking a deep breath, Goku rushed toward the area where the trail ended.

There was a snap, and he felt like he was squeezing through a crack and then he seemed to slip sideways. Around him was a greyish version of the world as it had been. Not a leaf stirred around him, and Goku instantly saw the dark being a ways away from him.

Brushing all other thoughts aside, all the oddity of the situation, Goku dove toward Ebony, who sensed him at the last second and leapt away. Jumping, Goku took to the air after him. They rushed through the grey half-world, no air disturbing their flight, Goku slowly closing in. Ebony stopped short suddenly, and Goku prepared for an attack. The dark monster did nothing, however, except begin working on the something before him.

Just then, something shot into the air in front of him. Goku recognized who it was and gaped.

  
  


All four of them walked on, a constant stream of chatter surrounding them. 18 felt slightly out of place, being surrounded by people, but finally acknowledged that no one was afraid of her here. In the back of her mind, she was vaguely concerned that Goku wouldn't be able to find her again amid so many other androids. Ah well, he was capable.

"So anyway," one of them asked, "What's your name?"

18 had nearly managed to forget they were there. Her eyes quickly focused on the nearest one who had asked the question.

"18."

"Really? What's your full name?"

"That is."

"Are you sure about that?" another asked.

"Why, what's wrong with it?"

"Well, I've never heard of anyone going by just two numbers. Basically everyone I know just goes by their last three."

"What are your names, then?"

"I'm 204," the blond one said. "They're 188 and 341."

"And that isn't your full name?"

204 looked at her strangely. "Of course not. I'm actually 4127204, but that's a mouthful, isn't it?"

Blinking, 18 figured out what was going on. In theory, if there were enough generations of androids, numbers would mount higher and higher, reaching the heights of what it was today.

"Sorry." She shook her head. "I'm from kind of far away."

"You must be, I thought no one was that low anymore."

"Aren't the oldest androids low numbers?"

"Not really. All of them have died by now. Unless, of course, you refer to the Strongest."

"What do you mean?"

"The nine strongest warriors are renamed after 21-29. Out of respect for the founder, we never go lower than that, but mythology says androids that low once existed."

Resisting the urge to smile, 18 asked, "Founder? Do you mean Gero?"

"Better say 20," another corrected quickly. "It's a bit impolite to call him by his name."

"Is he still alive?" Unconsciously, her hands tightened into fists.

"Of course not. Right now we're being led by Android 23."

Something about that name caught in her memory banks. Rerouting files, she found what she wanted. That must have been one of the androids that Goku fought while Cell was around. But was this the same android, or a different one? From what Goku had told her, the original 23 was probably dead and this one had taken his place. Before she could inquire further, one of the girls, 188 she thought, squealed.

"There it is!"

18 had entirely forgotten they were inside a mall. The other three rushed to some particular display, and she followed easily. Sighing, she waited for them to finish and glanced around at her surroundings. This world was eerily like their own, from what she had seen, almost like it was a copy. That didn't make sense though, the buildings would have been destroyed by this time. What she had discovered was interesting, but at this point didn't matter yet. She wasn't really sure what Goku was trying to accomplish by finding out more about this world.

In her opinion, they should destroy Ebony as soon as possible and leave. There really wasn't any point dwelling in this world and leaving their own unprotected. Then again, maybe time ceased in the former while they were here. She'd have to ask Goku about that one later.

Now carrying bags, her three friends joined her again and began walking somewhere.

"You haven't told us about that other guy you were with."

"Yes?" Now the question was whether or not to lie about his name. Did it really matter?

"I've never really seen anyone that powerful. I mean, he just wiped out those thugs!"

"Yeah. That was child's play for him. He's self modified, with some impressive hardware."

A half-truth, she supposed. Goku's arm was android based, and he had worked on it. Not that it mattered about the nature of the deception, the result was the same.

"Looks like a nice guy." Mentally, 18 froze. Forcing herself to remain calm on the outside, she ignored the emotions that slowly surfaced within.

"Yeah."

One of them opened her mouth to speak, and 18 was sure the question would have been uncomfortable, but she never got a chance to vocalize. A shot rang out, and a burst of red shot over their heads. Swiveling, 18 identified the attacker as an ordinary man, android, she corrected herself, wielding a gun. He had fired twice, taking out both of the security guards in sight.

There were screams around the crowd as they realized what had happened. Just then, several otherwise nondescript androids pulled out similar guns. Scanning their positions, 18 realized they were positioned strategically around the crowd so that no one could get in or out. Random robbery this was not.

"If anyone moves, we plug them," the leader said, raising his voice above the tumult. "Don't move and no one will be killed. I assure you, however, we have no qualms about doing so if anyone tries to counter us."

The force of his voice and the multitude of guns aimed at them quieted the crowd. Several officers rushed down a side corridor, but they were caught off guard. Bursts of red lightning shot from the guns, and each had a devastating effect. All of the guards were blasted backward and lay still.

"Is your world always this dangerous?" 18 asked 204 dryly. She fearfully shook her head.

"Stuff like this happens a lot, but we're just unlucky to run into two in one day."

"Your world is insane," 18 muttered, glancing around. Probably a terrorist attack, with them intending to use all of the people as hostages. Was there an ulterior motive, or were they just out for money? It hardly mattered.

"No talking," a nearby one ordered them, aiming his gun toward them. 18 grabbed his gun with one hand and struck him on the side of the head with the other. Whoever he was, he fell like any human. Glancing at the gun, 18 tossed it aside idly. By this time, the others knew were she was and fired shots at her. 

Deflecting the blasts easily with her hands, 18 leapt over the crowd, taking out the nearest of the terrorists. She wasn't exactly sure what the lightning was, but however much it reminded her of Gero's lightning, it wasn't anywhere nearly powerful enough to deal any damage to her.

Before any of the others fired again, three others had fallen. Eventually one of them came to his senses and grabbed the nearest person he could find.

"Don't move!" he yelled, finger tightening on the gun menacingly. The two remaining of his counterparts took the time to grab hostages as well. A trickier situation. There was a moment of silence, then 18 struck. A burst of ki erupted under one of the androids, incinerating him and leaving his hostage unharmed, in the same instant the second fell to an energy blast from 18's hand. Her foot kicked the final terrorist's gun, sending it and the shot it fired into the air harmlessly.

Kicking lightly, 18 pinned the last one against the wall. Almost immediately he pulled another gun from beneath his coat. Calmly catching the weapon in one hand, 18 effortlessly ground the metal to dust. What remained of the gun dropped from the leader's trembling hands.

"Now, why did you do this?" 18 asked, fixating him with a cold stare. The leader winced. Now that all his protection and insurance was gone, he spoke quickly.

"It was a shady character, he paid us to do it!"

He sounded like he was telling the truth, so she didn't increase pressure.

"And what was this character like?"

"Completely dark, and-" his voice choked off suddenly, and he doubled over for a reason that was none of 18's doing. When he bent up again, his eyes had become pools of darkness. 18 nearly recoiled, and withdrew cautiously. An instant later, a burst of black flame shattered him, leaving scattered circuitry behind.

Someone hadn't wanted him to give information. Originally she had thought this pretty unimportant, but there was something much greater at foot here. She was sure that money was no object. Whoever had done this obviously had a lot of power, to be able to destroy someone from a distance like this. Unless he had been marked in some way that prevented him from speaking about his employer. Still, she had felt a malevolent presence. When Goku returned, she would actually have something useful to tell him.

"Wow," one of the others had made her way over to where 18 stood. 18 paid her little notice.

"That was incredible," another one of them breathed. They were all here now. "How did you do all that?"

"Don't you have any warriors here?"

"Yes, but... You're a warrior?"

"Not as good as my friend, but good enough."

"Wow," 204 said again. Around them, the chaos further mounted.

"Could we go somewhere else?" 18 asked. "I'd like to avoid any attention if possible."

"Oooh, does this have something to do with the reason you guys are here?"

"You could say that."

  
  


Gero floated before Goku, laughing evilly.

"Well, well. We meet once again, saiyan."

"This is a completely different dimension. How could you know me?"

"It doesn't matter. How do you like this world, in which I have won? Androids populate this planet, everyone else is no more."

"Wait." Goku sensed something deeply wrong. "If you're from an alternate dimension, you would never have seen me as I am now, or I would already be dead. How can you know me?"

"Did you beat Cell?" Gero ignored his words, continuing on. Behind him, Ebony continued working.

"Yes," Goku snapped, slightly irritable. Something was tugging at a corner of his mind, and he couldn't exactly put his finger on it.

"Ah well, that mistake wasn't made here. I am the law!"

"You're the Gero from my world, aren't you? How are you alive? I killed you myself!"

Ebony turned now to face him, laughing slightly. In front of him, something shimmered a dark color and seemed to vanish.

"Actually, this isn't quite the Gero from your world."

"What do you mean?" Goku glanced over at Gero, who seemed frozen in time as he spoke with Ebony, who was still smiling.

"Gero hates you more than you realize. What you see before you is all of his hate, manifested into something that has actually become an entity. You'd be surprised what hate can do. All this extra, a planet, people, was unnecessary, but still, it is an effective tool."

"You mean that hate can actually create worlds?"

"Dimensions. With a bit of help, it definitely can. Where do you think Trunks' world came from? Merely all of Vegita's anger concentrated. The only purpose of his world was to destroy you."

"Well it failed. What happens then?"

"It was of no use." Ebony waved a hand dismissively. "We destroyed it. So much hate... it was quite interesting. Of course, if I can destroy your dimension, we'll gain the source of so much. There is really nothing you can do to stop us, this dimension will suffice for ages to come."

"What would you gain by that? And what do you mean, 'we?'"

"That," the dark being smiled, "I won't tell you."

"Why are you telling me any of the rest?"

"Because you're too late and you can't actually use it. I've erected a barrier in front of me, one no amount of your power can break. This barrier keeps anything good from entering, and I believe there is quite a bit of that in you. Unless you somehow become pure evil, you'll have to face it, I'm beyond your reach."

Jumping forward, Goku found himself repelled by the wall of darkness, and grudgingly acknowledged that Ebony spoke the truth.

"You might as well give up and go home." Ebony smirked from behind his line of defense. "There is nothing you can do here. Your power is for naught."

The frozen essence of time shattered, and Gero again moved, smirking at Goku. Laughing, Ebony faded from view, but Goku sensed the barrier still in front of him, blocking his way. He gritted his teeth, but it seemed Ebony was right, there was nothing he could do to break the barrier.

"You always were a fool, Goku," Gero spoke again, reminding Goku of his presence. The hatred formed Gero faltered as Goku glanced toward him, his eyes decidedly irritable. If he couldn't get Ebony now, at least he could take out his anger on Gero, if it was really possible to kill something that was pure hate.

It was.


	27. Episode XXV: Android World

I'm pleased to see you like the Android World. However, it won't be developed as much as I'm sure you'd like. See Goku and Ebony's conversation in the last chapter for a better explanation. Though it certainly would have been interesting to pursue a plot development in which 18 is discovered as one of the original androids, I considered it carefully and didn't do it. 

  
  


By the way, it is after this story arc that the plot begins to come together, and you'll finally understand most of what is going on. I've been pretty economical in my use of explanation, so this should help everyone out.

  
  


-

  
  


Leaning back against a tree, 18 glanced across the darkening park. This was a nice place, so much quieter. Here at least, she could escape the massive crowds. Being the hero was a strange sensation, and she wasn't sure if she really liked it. It is better than being hated, she reminded herself quickly. 204, 341 and 188 were nearby, doing whatever they did. In the face of other issues it hardly mattered, however.

Her senses told her nothing, but 18 suddenly was struck with the feeling that someone was there. She whirled in time to see a black form drop from a nearby tree and hit the ground soundlessly. Gliding across the space between them, the dark form halted and then flickered, forming the familiar shape of Goku.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned softly. 18 shrugged.

"I followed the people you told me to. I still am."

"Alright. It was a bit difficult to find you, though."

"What about Ebony?"

"He's beyond my reach for now. It will take a while for me to think of something. What about you?"

"I've found out a few things. We were right about this world being full of androids. Gero founded the place."

"Actually, it turns out Gero's hatred created this alternate dimension. I've taken him out, but that didn't do anything to stop this planet's continued existence."

"That's bizarre, but alright. To continue, we got attacked by a bunch of terrorists."

"Talk about bad luck." Goku raised his eyebrows slightly. 18 smiled.

"They say it's relatively common. What's more disturbing is that the terrorists were apparently working for someone who hired them out to attack. Someone who sounds a lot like Ebony."

"I see. What else did you find?"

"Nothing. I was questioning one, but he was destroyed by an outside force."

"Makes sense. What I'm trying to figure out is how that would benefit him at all."

"I can't help you there."

"Alright, this puts a new light on things. I want to go into the city again. There's a certain android I want to talk to."

"Who?"

"I don't really know his name, but he's a scientist. If I'm correct, he can help me with a plan I'm working on."

"Should I bother asking what that plan is?"

"Don't. I have to be absolutely sure it works first. In the meantime, could you find out who is in charge of this place? I have a bad feeling about that."

"Oh yeah, his name is 23. Was that one of the ones you fought?"

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure I killed him though."

"I've been told that the nine strongest androids always are named 21-29. It could be that another took his place."

"I see."

"Do you want me to figure that out?"

"That would be helpful." Goku nodded. "I really need to know if it's the same guy. And if it isn't, we still need to find out who's in charge. When I'm done, I'll meet you again and we can plan."

"Sure. See you then."

Goku smiled and then melted back into the shadows. Within seconds, he was gone.

  
  


Seconds later, Goku was jumping his way over the city. Normally he would have flown, but he had a bad feeling that there was something here that could sense ki, and that was the last thing he wanted. Using nothing but his physical force, he pushed off another building, rocketing through the air to another, where he bounded off again. There was something appealing about this manner of travel.

Down below, however, he knew he could find this scientist. Ever since he had seen the laboratory, he knew that was the place he needed to go. On average, it seemed the androids here were more human and weaker than 18. There had to a reason for that. For other reasons, this scientist was exactly the person he needed to talk to. A bit of research Goku had done indicated this android had some information that could be very useful.

Eventually he made it to his intended location. A lot of people had probably seen him, but it didn't matter. The dangerous ones wouldn't have felt him. Landing on the ground as lightly as possible, he slipped into the building. Moving at full speed, he rushed through the halls toward his destination, those nearby felt only a slight breeze.

Halting outside a door, Goku peered in. Yes, this was the one. Behind it, the doctor sat at his desk, working some figures on the table. The door opened without a sound, and Goku crept in and stood in front of the android. He could wait. His sources said that this particular android was unit 607. However, from what he had also gathered, he usually went by another name. A real name. That alone was unusual for an android.

Dr. Bruin, sighed and ran a hand through a shock of grey hair. It was too late tonight to be working, but this product needed to be finished on schedule. Glancing up, he nearly had a heart attack as he saw someone standing silently in front of him, looking directly at him.

"Who are you?" the doctor asked, nervously backing up in his chair. Goku shrugged.

"You wouldn't know me. I need your help."

Having moved back to the wall, Dr. Bruin's hand shot up to touch the small grey button on it that would call security. The next thing he realized, his intruder had gotten over the desk and bridged the distance between them to grab his hand. 

"I wouldn't suggest doing that. Now please, I don't want to hurt you."

"What do you want?"

Goku glanced down at the badge he wore, "Dr. Bruin, is it? Greetings. My name is Goku."

"Never heard of you."

"I said you wouldn't. However, I'm from another dimension. You are the only person I know of capable of helping me find a way back."

"Why should I believe a story like that?" The doctor's mind was calming.

"What do I gain by lying?" Goku shrugged. "Besides, if I wanted to make this difficult you wouldn't have any choice in the matter."

"Very well, let's assume I believe your story. How can I help you?"

"You have the technology and resources to do something like that. I don't."

"Would you mind if I ran a few tests on you first?"

"If you think it would prove something."

"I would."

"Alright." Goku shrugged again. "What do I do?"

"Step over there." The doctor rose to his feet slowly and stretched. Maybe he should have drank some coffee. Whatever this was, he'd just have to deal with it.

"Give me just a second and I'll prepare something."

"Sure."

Goku patiently stood while Dr. Bruin went into the other room. Quickly modifying a few things, Dr. Bruin fired up the system. If this worked, he'd find out how much truth this stranger spoke. With luck, however, it wouldn't matter anyway. Acknowledging it was ready, Dr. Bruin gestured for Goku to come into the other room.

Dr. Bruin carefully watched Goku enter the other room, then slammed on the alarm button as fast as he possibly could. To his dismay, nothing happened. Hearing the sound, Goku entered from the other room and smiled slightly. Opening his hand, he displayed two small red wires.

"Don't you trust me?" he smirked slightly. "Let's keep this on the level, shall we?"

"Very well." Dr. Bruin was surprised. He had assumed this stranger, Goku, he called himself, was mentally unbalanced. Perhaps he was wrong. At his gesture, Goku stepped onto a small circle of light. Dr. Bruin pushed a few buttons and waited as the computer began its analysis. Slowly, information began pouring out onto the screen.

He couldn't believe it, this one was telling the truth. All of his matter was entirely foreign to this dimension. Other statistics appeared, and they just didn't seem to match up. His age was an enigma, dating suggested he was over 35, but his body hadn't aged nearly that far. Small discrepancies were disregarded as the final scan appeared, and he saw something that should have been impossible.

The stranger was nearly entirely organic, strange enough by itself, but one of his hands was actually a metallic structure. He noticed that there was also some mechanical structure near his heart, but it was nearly obscured by the flesh around it. What was most amazing was how skin and metal seemed to meet and connect. Along the edges, there was nearly no difference between the two, leading him to wonder if it was metallic skin, or skin-like metal.

"Well?" Goku cocked his head slightly. Dr. Bruin shook his head.

"What have you done to your arm?"

"Oh, this?" Goku's hand shifted to a clawed metal hand and then back to his normal one again. "I'm not quite sure how, but it's melded into me."

"I guess I have to believe you." Dr. Bruin sighed and leaned against the computer terminal. Goku stepped down and sat in the chair beside him.

"I'm glad you came around. Can you help me?"

"I haven't had any experience in this..." his voice trailed off as he looked into Goku's eyes.

"Are you sure?" Goku asked. "You wouldn't happen to remember a squadron of androids sent to another world, would you?"

Dr. Bruin broke under that gaze. "You're right. I've shifted a dimensional portal before. We wanted to go back in time and rescue some of the Eldest Androids. All that happened was we discovered another dimension. Now how did you know about that?"

"I'm from the world those androids went to."

"We haven't heard a thing from them." Dr. Bruin realized he had an excellent chance to discover some important information. "Do you know what happened?"

"Yeah." Goku nodded. "On arriving they came in the middle of a pretty big battle. A being called Cell destroyed a lot of them, and the others attacked me. I was forced to destroy them."

"Oh."

"Sorry. They seemed determined to kill anyone nearby."

"I shouldn't have trusted them," Dr. Bruin muttered. "But I suppose I didn't have a choice. But why are you here now?"

"An accident, I could call it. I was following someone else. But I figured that perhaps you could do the same thing to me as you did to them?"

"Not really," Dr. Bruin said. "The authorities confiscated my equipment."

"Oh." Goku frowned slightly. "That's too bad."

"But," Dr. Bruin coughed, "if I had happened to miss a few, and if you happened to steal one of them, it couldn't be helped, could it?"

Goku smiled. "I see. How would this work?"

"Your mechanical arm is capable of containing something strong enough to create a dimensional portal."

"Could you install one?"

"Not as it is now. Your arm is pretty obsolete, compared to our technology. I could change that, though."

"Sure. If you did all that, could I use my arm to shift dimensions?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. What do I do?"

"Enter the ring again and wait patiently. I could put you under for the operation..."

"It's alright." Goku shook his head. "I can take the pain."

"Alright then. Let's go."

"If there's anything I can do to pay this back to you..."

Dr. Bruin waved it aside. "Don't worry about it. It costs me nothing. You've already given me some important information."

"Then accept my heartfelt thanks."

Standing in the small ring once again, Goku glanced around him as a tube of glass slid down to encase him. Metal bands appeared on one side, and Goku looked at Dr. Bruin questioningly.

"Put your arms and legs in them," Dr. Bruin explained, his voice barely audible. "I'll start the process."

Backing into the bands, Goku felt the metal slide over his limbs, holding him in place. Just to make sure, he tested them, but they weren't strong enough to hold him there, if it became necessary to escape. However, he was quite pleased with Dr. Bruin. His original impression of the man had been correct. Even in a world like this, created from hate, there was still goodness in some people. He felt a slightly bitter taste in his mouth as he reconsidered. Could anything in this world even be considered real?

Machines floated down to his arm, which he changed to mechanical form. Immediately they began working, changing circuitry and metal. To his surprise, there was no pain. Extending his senses down to the arm, Goku carefully monitored what was going on. He trusted Dr. Bruin almost entirely. Almost being the key word. Complete trust had been burned out of him for all but a few.

For now, however, it appeared nothing out of line was going on. His arm's capabilities were already significantly enhanced by linking into his body, but with these modifications it handled the energy better. Most of the changes seemed to be upgrades in hardware and software. Goku was eager to try out his new hand as soon as the modifications were done; it would probably be significantly better.

  
  


Tightening a fist, 18 sighed and turned away from the computer terminal. No luck. It wasn't that the computer had been able to keep her out, it was just that there was simply no information about this leader. Whoever he or she was, they were very thorough. Hopefully, it wouldn't matter if Goku accomplished what he wanted to.

  
  


A few final modifications were made, and Goku realized his hand was entirely upgraded. The question now was how Dr. Bruin was going to actually add this portal creator. Very little of Goku's research had been on dimensions, and he wanted to learn from someone who had a life's work in the field. Instead of continuing, the machines retreated back into the ceiling. Glancing up, Goku looked carefully at the blue circle above him. As he watched, it began to hum and glow slightly.

His first instinct was to shatter his bonds and leave, but he carefully restrained himself. Jumping to conclusions would ruin everything. Trust was important at this moment. Dr. Bruin had been kind to help him, and he deserved to be rewarded for that.

Outside the tube, Dr. Bruin held his head between his hands and sighed heavily. He couldn't believe he was doing this. It wasn't like he hadn't killed before. But there was something about this, something that screamed of wrongness. The stranger was undoubtable from another dimension, and a cross between human and android. And yet, he didn't seem human, nor was he any obvious other race. A smile appeared on his lips. Soon, however, he would get some answers to his questions. 

Perhaps what bothered him was the use of blue lightning. That just screamed wrongness, not like the cleaner touch of its red brother. That, however, didn't have the power he needed. If he was right, however, and he could control it, he had developed the ultimate weapon of war. Combining that with what he could learn dissecting the stranger, he could become an unstoppable force.

A light blinked, indicating charging was finished. Dr. Bruin flashed a thumbs up to Goku inside, inwardly thanking his luck that this one was so trusting. Then he pressed a small blue button, and a column of blinding blue light shot down toward the saiyan.

  
  


At first Goku paid little attention. Blue lightning arced around him, but it passed through his skin harmlessly. In a way, it reminded him of the lightning Gero had used to control the androids. Actually, it almost identical. His eyes narrowed, and he began to observe the situation closer. 

Where the lightning touched his android arm, it began to rearrange material. The affect was negligible, because the lightning was instantly drawn away toward his heart. Using its new self repairing abilities, the arm was unharmed, but if there wasn't some force in him drawing it away, it would not be so. Quickly figuring, Goku began to consider what would have happened if not for this odd turn of events. Within seconds he realized that had he been a normal android, he would already be dead.

Teeth clenched, Goku didn't act just yet. What was it stopping the lightning from affecting his arm? Looking himself over, he found the blue lightning in a tight orb over his heart. He couldn't find anything causing it, but when he checked with his ki senses, it was a different story. Apparently he had unconsciously used his ki and force of will to bend the lightning to him instead of harming him. Checking the energy involved, he figured out exactly how it worked.

With no further questions, Goku set about to settle his own score. Flexing, he shattered all four of the metal bands surrounding him. As he expected, they snapped easily. He had not anticipated what his act of strength, his first since the blue lightning had surrounded him, would do. There was a brilliant flash, and the glass around him shattered into nearly dust like pieces.

Stepping out from the light within, Goku instantly fixed his eyes on Dr. Bruin, who stared at him with horror. There was something in them more terrified than what was warranted, prompting Goku to look down at himself. To his surprise, he discovered the blue lightning had left its orb and was now arcing around his body. He tried to stop it and found he couldn't. For now, though, it didn't matter.

"You tried to kill me."

Dr. Bruin didn't attempt to argue with him, or plead. He merely bolted for the door. Goku quickly extended a hand, intending to block the door with a ki barrier. To his surprise, a bolt of blue electricity shot from his hand, forming a wall over the door. Unlike a ki barrier, which would have harmlessly repelled the doctor, this barrier had no such protective qualities. Stumbling in an attempt to stop, Dr. Bruin touched a single strand of lightning and instantly it arced over his body, covering him.

Snapping himself out of shock in nanoseconds, Goku tried to recall the lightning, but he was already too late. All that remained was a burned husk. Horrified, Goku dropped to the ground, shocked at what he had unintentionally done. Angrily, he tried to dispel the lightning surrounding him, but found that his best efforts failed. Instead of killing him, the blue lightning must have been somehow absorbed into his being.

"There never was a dimensional portal, was there?" he said softly to the destroyed scientist.

Turning on the machine that had done this, Goku smashed the computer and what remained of the tube. The blue lightning stopped, to his relief; unfortunately, the blue lightning within him continued to burn. As Goku moved to leave, he froze in shock as he saw a surprised-looking official staring at the situation in front of him.

The lightning around him snapped and it took all of Goku's control to prevent it from frying the android where he stood. Shaking himself, the terrified android fled from the room. This just got worse and worse. Hoping to avoid damaging any other people, Goku ripped through the ceiling and out of the building. Hovering temporarily, he sped off into the sky, leaving a trail of blue light in his wake.

While he was relieved he had been able to spare the official, Goku knew he'd soon raise an alarm. After that, he'd have an army on his heels. Of course, it wouldn't be a problem for him, but it wasn't his own safety he was worried about. The immediate objective was to find 18 and flee before he could cause too much damage. With a bit of time, he was sure he could bring this new force under control.

Below him, red lights began to course through the city. People swarmed into buildings as the red alert was sounded. Exerting all of the new abilities he possessed, Goku found he could now easily sense 18 in the city. Plummeting to her location, he fervently hoped she was alone.

  
  


-

  
  


You like original plot devices? There's one of my personal favorites coming up.


	28. Episode XXVI: Android World

Startled, 18 glanced up to see Goku crash through the ceiling and land before her. The change in him was bizarre, blue lightning coursed over his body randomly.

"What is this?"

"We don't have time," Goku's voice was starkly cold, like he'd just seen his friends die again. "Follow me and I'll explain everything once we reach safety."

Without questioning further, 18 flew after him. The lightning around him looked frighteningly familiar. Soon they dropped to the ground in the remains of a building construction site. Ducking a darkened alcove, Goku gestured for her to follow. She moved in beside him, careful to avoid any actual contact. They faced each other in the darkness, silently as Goku listened carefully for others outside.

"Now how about explaining all of this?" 18 asked finally. Goku nodded.

"We have some time before they find us. I'm sure they've sensed our ki, and they'll be closing in. There's nothing we can do until then."

"They?"

"An army, probably. We'll have to fight."

"Alright then. Why?"

"Right." Goku nodded. "First off, this is the world that the other androids I fought came from. I hoped I could find how they got here, and then use it to let us get back. However, I was betrayed by someone, and it triggered something in me that caused this. Now if I touch any particular android, they're history."

"That's going to be a problem with me, isn't it?"

"It wouldn't kill you, but it definitely would be painful. You're right, that will be a very big problem."

"Is there anything you can do?"

"Is there?" Goku carefully considered, electricity wrapping around him. He noticed that unlike before, the electricity showed no sign of trying to attack 18. Maybe that had something to do with his feelings. In that case, it could well be possible. Giving it a bit of thought, Goku pinpointed what it was that caused the lightning to be so devastating to the androids. It would be a simple matter to remove a few lines, and reroute others, and the effects would be entirely gone. He nodded thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I can do it." He held up his android hand. "This is actually made of millions of nanodroids, all of them completely linked to my will. I could probably work an operation this simple right here, if you let me. I warn you though, this is going to be a bit invasive."

"We don't have any other choice."

"True. In that case, raise your hand."

18 did so, and Goku raised his as well, it flickered to its metal form. Slowly the edges of his hand seemed to defray and extended, forming grey wisps that flew through the air. None of them could see it, but Goku knew that each tiny robot was launching itself and flying to the target. As they struck 18 they entered through pores easily and made their way to the location of the needed change. Closing his eyes, Goku focused to control so many intricate movements. Slowly wisps of grey collected in 18's irises, and she shuddered slightly with a feeling other than pain.

Bringing himself under control, Goku quickly made the change and withdrew himself as quickly as possible, leaving both of them breathing hard from something other than exertion. Goku's fingertips formed again as the nanodroids took their places, and his hand faded to its ordinary skin form.

"Sorry about that," Goku panted. "I didn't think it would be that bad."

"You're forgiven."

Neither spoke for some time, then Goku shook himself and extended his senses. Sure enough, there was an army outside, combing the area for them. They'd find them within minutes. Nodding to each other, they both stood, shattering the area above them, sending shrapnel into the air. Ki flooded out from the area, tinged with Goku's lightning, sending out an obvious beacon into the air. 18 was close enough that the blue lightning jumped the gap between them, but it harmlessly deflected into the atmosphere.

By now the army had assembled facing them. Goku wondered what would possess 23 to attempt to defeat them with an army. Either he was overconfident and ignorant, or he was all too willing to sacrifice others. Raising both hands in front of her, 18 launched a massive blast that wiped out a good portion of the army nearing them. From above, hundreds of guns fired red lightning toward them.

"Hold your ground," Goku whispered to her. 18 nodded. As the lightning neared, Goku extended a hand, and bent the weaker red lightning to his will. It slowed and then flooded back in the opposite direction, sending the aerial part of the army to the ground. At the same instant, Goku and 18 sped in opposite directions. 

What followed could not be considered a fight by any account. Whatever purpose the army was supposed to serve it failed, for it was easily destroyed. Some part of Goku's conscious bit into him with every blow, but once he started, he found that it was difficult to stop, as the lightning fueling his attacks. If he had needed to, absolutely needed to, he could have. But as things were, he had no reason in the world.

It wasn't long before the charred battlefield held only two combatants, both of whom weren't even winded. Having exercised his blue lightning ability so much, Goku felt the incredible destruction within him ease. If he fought much longer, he could perhaps even control it. Before they could consider their next move, however, both felt a ki landing in the area. The feeling was so strange after sensing only androids for so long that both noticed it immediately.

Across the construction site, Android 23 stood, glancing at them coolly. 18 noticed that he actually had a ki, unlike all of the other androids. That alone was strange. Goku racked his brain, trying to remember if this was the same 23 he had fought before. It was so similar, but he didn't think it was exactly the same. His silver hair was now suspended in the air like Goku's, and the look disturbed Goku slightly.

"Well, well, so you're the two who have caused so many problems." 23's voice wasn't quite the same as it had been before, but something about it was hauntingly familiar to both of them.

"Have we met before?" Goku asked. 23 smirked.

"What I do know is that we won't meet again!"

His hands raised, and Goku's eyes widened in surprise, but not from his attack. Behind 23, Ebony was standing, dark energy surrounding him. Before 23 launched his attack, Ebony slipped into him, their forms merging together. 23 shook slightly, but seemed none the worse for the wear. In fact, his power jumped significantly, and his eyes burned a dark black. 

"Balance Beam!" His voice was a cruel twisting of 23's tone.

Too distracted from Ebony's possession of 23, Goku found himself unable to dodge the blast that sped toward him. 18 agilely jumped out of the way, but Goku was struck dead on. Landing, she glanced at 23, who shook violently, then discharged Ebony, who flew into the air and vanished, his evil laughter echoing in their ears. Recovering himself, 23 leapt into the sky and flew away.

Turning to Goku, 18 was shocked to find two bodies on the ground. Both shook themselves off and got to their feet, relatively unhurt, and then 18 gasped. Two forms of Goku brushed themselves off. The only difference between them was their gi's, one was a a deep black, the other a pure white.

The Dark Goku glanced at them, then teleported from the area instantly. 18 turned questioningly to the Light Goku.

"What was that?"

"I'm not sure what it was," Light Goku said, puzzled. "But I do know what it did."

"That works too."

"Ebony did something that has split me into Dark and Light sides. Apparently he thought this was enough to stop me, because he ran to hide behind his barrier again. Now we have two opponents to fight."

"So the other one is evil?"

"More or less."

"Is there any way to get you back together again?"

"Probably, but we don't have time now. Plus, we'll have to disable the Dark Goku first, and he wouldn't be happy about that. For now, I'll try to catch Ebony before he can escape. You follow 23, he's more dangerous."

"Wouldn't you be better off doing that?"

"Not anymore," Light Goku shook his head. "Both of my forms have only half my power. Right now, you're the strongest of us. I'll take the easier job."

"Alright."

Two fingers swiftly went to Light Goku's forehead, and then he vanished as well. Part of 18 wanted to disbelieve everything she was seeing, but the other calmly acknowledged it and began planning her next actions. Lifting off she began flying after 23, who was by now far away. His ki was obvious against the stark nothingness, however, and she knew that it was only a matter of time.

  
  


On the metaphysical plane, there was a brilliant flash of light, followed by a horrible scream. There was a profound silence, and then a second later a single form walked from the origin point of the blast. Dark Goku smiled slightly, considering all before him. It was a complex plan, true, but if it worked he stood to gain everything he needed.

Reaching into the darkness around him, Dark Goku formed a bit of it into his intended shape. Smiling, he put on dark glasses and slipped back into the normal reality once again. So far, things were going perfectly.

  
  


Just as 18 had 23 within firing range, a burst of ki struck from above and she plummeted into the area below. 23 felt the energy and turned quickly, to see Dark Goku smiling slightly. Now what was this? It was obviously Goku, but it felt nothing like the saiyan he knew. There was a black ki that made even him shudder.

"Who are you?" 23 demanded. Dark Goku just smiled, then flew forward and touched 23 lightly, then placed two fingers to his forehead. Before 23 could object, they vanished. Below them, 18 blasted the nearby material away from her and was nearly instantly in the sky, only to find they had already left. Sensing the ki residue, she realized that Dark Goku must have attacked her. Were they working together now? In any case, the blast had barely damaged her, and she had a lock on their new situation. 18 took off once again.

  
  


23 found himself standing in one of the streets of the city suddenly. Shaking the disorientation of whatever that teleportation technique had been off, he glanced up to see the evil-looking Goku staring silently at him. Summoning up his courage, 23 glared at him.

"Explain yourself!" His voice carried a powerful command, but it seemed to have no influence on Dark Goku.

"My name is Dark Goku," the black shape said softly. "When you launched that attack, it split Goku into a dark and light side. I am that dark side."

"And why did you help me?"

"Our goals our similar. Particularly in the world domination category. I offer you all of Goku's talents, and enough power to counter the Light Goku."

"Interesting. Why should I trust you?"

Dark Goku's smile was savage. "Should you?"

There was an uncomfortable moment of silence, and then 23 laughed. "I like you. Perhaps we could work together. That is, if you can prove your worth to me."

"Don't fear about that, I'll make it very worth your while."

"So what are we going to do?"

"First off, we need to avoid a direct confrontation, because both of them together could be somewhat of a challenge. However, there is a way we can swing the fight to our advantage."

"How?"

"Make sure the fight takes place on our grounds. Specifically, we go to the Power Core of your city. There, the high energy of the Core will be enough for me to cast a certain spell. At that place, it would unravel Light Goku. Perhaps that would increase my power, and at the very least it would remove one of our opponents easily."

"Intelligent. But what if they find a way to erupt the core? I'm not even sure how much damage that would do!"

"That's why we purposefully lock the main power output, then attach that output to a single switch, one which we will then shield. They will not be able to trigger it in any way."

"Wouldn't that increase the Power Core to near critical mass?"

"True, but they will be unable to do anything to trigger it, and afterward we can remove our modifications."

"I like your thinking. This could work well..."

His voice trailed off as both of them saw a couple of androids who were outside for some reason, staring at them in horror. 23 cursed, wondering how much they had heard. Dark Goku had no such compulsion. Whirling, he launched a controlled bolt of blue lightning at them, leaving nothing but a shattered husks.

"Shall we begin?" Dark Goku asked. Behind him, 23 shuddered. This one might be a useful tool, but he was far too dangerous to keep around for long. After this issue was over, he would have to destroy him. Slowly, an idea began to form in his mind.

18 suddenly felt Goku's presence alongside her, but from the purity of it knew it must be Light Goku instead of his dark counterpart. She glanced to the side, where Light Goku's snowy white gi shone slightly.

"Well?"

"I failed to catch Ebony." Light Goku shook his head. "But I discovered something much more important. If there is a way that we can send a massive surge of power at the city core, we would disrupt the flow of this universe."

"And that does...?"

"It would destroy this universe. Right now it just serves as a feeding ground for Ebony and his kind."

"Wouldn't that sacrifice everyone on this world?"

Light Goku's eyes looked pained, "Suffering would be temporary. None of the people here truly exist, as I measure existence. Trust me, were they people in truth, I would never do such a thing."

"How much does being just a light side of someone affect you?"

"Some. My spirit is relatively strong, but I am still changed. If we run into anyone else along the way that could compromise our safety, I would have to ask you to do the job."

"I see. I hope you get back together soon."

He smiled kindly. "I do as well. I certainly do."

The Power Core was an awe-inspiring sight, a massive obelisk towering into the morning sky. Within it, a bluish light glowed brightly, streaming up to the top where it flew from the tip and into the endless sky. It was from here that the entire city gained its power, and here that the core of the world truly was. A sense of evil pervaded everything, but Dark Goku seemed at home in it.

Affected by neither awe nor evil, 23 flew into the Power Core without a second glance. He had been here hundreds of times, ever since this place had existed. Actually, the Core had existed long before the city, it was the hub around which the entire city spun. Both of them flew inside, and then settled down to wait.

  
  


Several minutes later, Light Goku and 18 arrived as well, on foot so as to avoid detection. They crept into one of the lowest doors of the place and began slowly making their way up. Light Goku was incredibly glad they were not forced to kill anyone along the way. Grimly he and 18 nodded to each other, and then they went in. 


	29. Episode XXVII: Android World

This is a cool chapter, in my humble opinion. At least it's one of my favorite, anyway. Keep your head about you at the end, because if you have trouble following stories, you might get lost. But I doubt most of my readers (those that I know, anyway) will have trouble with that.

  
  


On another topic, I have a Trigun fanfiction still going and the beginning of a Matrix one. Both of these will be updated regularly as well, and I'd much appreciate it if you read either.

  
  


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Episode XXVII:

  
  


Creeping carefully around the edge of the Core, 23 modified the Power Core slightly. Keeping his ki down, he stepped silently and hoped Dark Goku didn't sense him. Almost everything hinged on this moment, and whether or not he could pull this off. Finishing the modifications, 23 began manually climbing the side of the chamber to where he had been before.

Dark Goku was growing bolder, and 23 wasn't sure how long Dark Goku would be content to work with him. In any case, 23 shared power with no one, least of all a dark copy of his former nemesis. It was almost certain that after the other two were defeated, Dark Goku would threaten to destroy the Power Core. But now, of course, he had prevented that from ever happening. If Dark Goku even touched the Core, it would destroy him as completely as possible. If all went well, by the end of this he would be the only one of them left.

He had barely gotten back into position when Dark Goku appeared again.

"I was looking for you," Dark Goku said, his eyes unreadable behind the dark glasses. 23 forced himself to make no visible response.

"Sorry. What about?"

"I have to wonder, are you really the 23 that the old Goku fought before?"

Normally, 23 would never have answered him, or told a lie. But now, however, he was already under suspicion, and Dark Goku might be able to sense his lie. Oh well, once Dark Goku was destroyed, it would hardly matter what he knew.

"One and the same."

"Did you die?"

"I did, but I had been prepared for that. The shattered remnants of my being were returned to this dimension, where they slowly knit themselves together. It took months, but eventually I was reborn."

"Good as new, eh?"

"Better. What the old Goku didn't realize is that I had taken a small sample of his blood when I cut him. With the genes in that sample, I rebuilt myself better. I am an android saiyan now. Ever wonder why I had a ki?"

"So that's the reason." Dark Goku smiled and applauded noiselessly. "I congratulate you on your stroke of genius. It takes a sharp mind to out-think you, doesn't it?"

"No one out-thinks me." 23 smiled, thinking of how easily this would be. "No one."

Just then the floor melted away as Light Goku and 18 shot through it, landing in front of them. 

"Now!" 23 screamed. "Cast the spell now!"

Dark Goku did something, but there was a violent backlash of power.

"I can't!" he called back. "Light Goku has a way of blocking it. We'll have to beat them!"

Light Goku was already attacking, and Dark Goku barely defended himself. The two swirled in a blur of black and white as both warriors attacked. Identical styles clashed, and identical skills did their best to defeat the other. 23 glanced sideways at 18, who hadn't attacked yet.

"What do you say we postpone our fight until we have a victor of this one, no?" he proposed. "If you agree to those terms, I promise I'll keep the rest of this clean."

18 glanced at him, but didn't attack, so 23 took it as agreement and turned aside to watch.

Leaping sideways, Light Goku avoided Dark Goku's punch. Returning with his own, Light Goku grazed Dark Goku, who fell back, but managed to keep a hold of Light Goku's arm. Being pulled forward, Light Goku was hit directly by a knee. He flew backward swiftly and launched a ki blast, which Dark Goku deflected. They crashed again, and Light Goku managed to push one of Dark Goku's blows down, giving him enough time to kick his opponent.

Crashing backward, Dark Goku agilely bounded off the metal below, leaving Light Goku to plow into it. From above, he launched a blast of dark ki and sent the saiyan down. An instant later, Light Goku rushed up, uppercutting Dark Goku perfectly. Flipping backward, Dark Goku nearly clipped Light Goku, who weaved to the side and attempted to elbow him. Dark Goku caught the elbow and kicked, but was blocked.

Both fired blasts of ki point blank at the other, and the blasts knocked them both apart. Dark Goku used Instant Transmission to put himself nearer to his opponent, but Light Goku ducked the kick he knew was coming and attacked upward. Blocking that attack, Dark Goku struck downward, only to be blocked as well.

Grabbing Dark Goku's foot, Light Goku flung him toward the nearby wall of the Power Core. Before he let go, however, Dark Goku used his other foot to slam him in the face. Shaking himself, Goku recovered too late to avoid Dark Goku's strike from above, which sent him tumbling down into the power core. There was a rush of energy, and then nothing. The only sound was Dark Goku's laughing.

"I knew he'd win," 23 smirked. "They might have been equals in power, but Dark Goku had that killer instinct that Light Goku would never have."

A second later 18's strike imbedded him into the far wall. He would have fallen victim to another shot, had not Dark Goku flown into attack, batting 18 backward. She pivoted in midair and launched two blasts that struck both, but they shrugged them off and kept coming. Of course, 23 had lied when he said he'd keep it fair.

23 rushed forward, falling victim to a blast head on. As he tumbled down, however, 18 realized Dark Goku was unaccounted for. She felt his ki a second before he struck her from behind. Turning, she delivered a series of devastating moves to him which he failed to block, sending him down again. By this time, 23 was on his feet, and fired a large blast. Putting up a shield, 18 responded with a kick that was easily blocked. The two struggled for some time, neither getting a blow past the other.

Jumping away from the conflict, 18 avoided the blast she knew Dark Goku would launch. It hit 23 in the gut, and he made a dent in the side of the wall. Pulling himself out of that, he arrived in time to see Dark Goku fall from the fray. His own attack made contact, but at the same instant one of 18's did as well.

Landing, 18 rose to her knees in time to see Dark Goku's hand aimed at her, a massive amount of energy gathering in it. She froze, trying to collect herself in time to avoid a point blank shot. 23 got to his feet and began laughing at her. He floated down beside Dark Goku, who looked at her expressionlessly behind dark glasses.

"So at last you have lost," 23 chortled. "I knew you would fail. Dark Goku, don't kill her, I might have other uses for her after all this. But for now, finish her."

In response, Dark Goku laughed, and the sound was a dark one. Both of them flinched, neither understanding what was going on. Shaking his head, Dark Goku lowered his hand, letting his ki dissipate. 18 tensed, but waited to attack until she understood this development.

"What are you waiting for?" 23 asked, his voice commanding. "Attack!"

"You, my friend," Dark Goku turned to him, "are a fool."

"What?"

Again, Dark Goku merely laughed. Suddenly he drove his hand into 23's gut, sending the android against the far wall. He lowered a hand to 18 to help her up, and she reluctantly took it. To her surprise, he gently raised her to her feet. From the far wall, 23 shook off the dust and watched them closely.

"Have you gone soft?" he asked, glancing between them. Dark Goku merely glanced to the left.

Floating up from the Power Core, Light Goku arrived at their level. In his hands he held a small black box. The sight of it made 23 gasp, because he recognized it as the self-destruct trigger for the entire Power Core. But, the shield should have prevented him...

"You've been played for a fool," Light Goku spoke, and 18 realized he was truly unharmed. 23 looked like he was about to move, but Light Goku's hands tightened on the box and 23 halted instantly.

"Would you mind explaining all of this to me?" 18 asked, glancing at both Gokus with a puzzled look. They turned as one and smiled, one a kind smile and the other dark. Somehow both were comforting.

"23 made a fatal error in judgement," Light Goku began.

"He assumed that because we were split between Dark and Light, that one of us was good and the other evil," Dark Goku continued. "And he could not have been more wrong."

"While our natures may be different," Light Goku explained, "both of us have the same values, the same goals, and the same friends."

"You mean, you were working together?" 23 asked, incredulous. Both Gokus laughed.

"Indeed," they said it as one.

"After we were split," Dark Goku continued as he turned back to 18. "I went to the barrier that Ebony had erected. It kept out anything light, but I was completely dark."

"And after he broke it," Light Goku went on, "I joined him. From there, we destroyed Ebony."

"From that, we learned about the true nature of this dimension, and that if we could unbalance it enough, it would be completely destroyed."

"It was my idea to come here, and Dark Goku manipulated 23 so the battle took place here."

"I knew that 23 intended to betray me, but Light Goku held none of my darkness and could thus take the self destruct mechanism without harm. Of course, my 'shield' did nothing to stop him, just like the fake spell."

"We had only to fake my loss to allow me to get the mechanism, and 18 assisted by distracting 23 in the meantime as Dark Goku pretended to fight."

"Now as soon as I destroy this control, we remove this world from existence, and thus remove Ebony's breeding ground of hatred."

"It also destroys 23's empire. Very efficient."

Dark Goku floated above the core beside Light Goku. It was an odd sight, the two of them so opposite, and yet so alike.

"Wait!" 23 called, frantically attempting to think of a way out of this situation. "If you destroy me, you'll have no way to become one again!"

"I've already considered that," Dark Goku responded calmly.

"At this place, the nexus of this false dimension, I am capable of fusing us into one again. Could you hold this?"

Light Goku tossed the small box to 18, who caught it easily. She was still slightly awed at how much 23 had been duped. While it was weird discovering nearly the entire conflict had been staged, she understood their need for secrecy. Holding the box carefully, she waited as Light Goku began muttering under his breath.

Soon Dark Goku's words joined his, both voices working in unison. In an instant, there was a blinding flash of light and darkness, and then it all collected in the center of the chamber in a brightly glowing form. Eventually the light faded, and 18 saw Goku fused once again. He now had Light Goku's gi, tied with Dark Goku's black bands and glasses. The affect was strange, but she easily felt the new wave of ki from him. Once again, Goku was the strongest warrior in the dimension.

"Thank you for your help." He nodded to 18. "What do you say we finish this?"

Smiling, she threw the box back to him. 23 rushed forward, but Goku batted him aside as if he were of no concern, then crushed the box. The Core exploded, sending material everywhere. White light covered everything, but instead of fading it increased, as more and more matter was sucked into oblivion. 18 found herself flying along the tunnel of rings again much faster than her first trip. Behind her, she saw an all encompassing white just behind her, consuming all in its path. A second later, Goku emerged from it, matching speed beside her.

"What's happening now?" 18 asked him from across the passage. He smiled.

"After I disrupted the energy flow, the dimension collapsed. Now anything from other dimensions is being pushed back to where it belongs, and this tunnel will be forever closed off."

"So I suppose it's mission accomplished?"

"Definitely. Thanks for all your help."

"Sure. What is that?"

Goku glanced where she pointed and saw a white ring ahead of them.

"The end of this part of the tunnel. At that point we cro-"

There was a snap as they crossed it, and Goku's gi and sun glasses were ripped away from him, replaced with the orange one he had worn when they first entered the portal. He gazed after them slightly sadly.

"As I was saying, we cross the dimension line there, and all foreign matter stays there to be destroyed."

"I see."

There was a moment of darkness that stilled all further conversation, and then they landed on the ground, back in their own world once again. What surprised both of them was that a moment later another object shot from the portal and plowed into the ground a ways away. Seconds later, the portal closed silently. Both of them ignored it and focused on the shape that had also come out of the portal.

Android 23 slowly staggered to his feet, and stared at both of them, hate in his eyes.

"Why is he here?" 18 asked. Goku shrugged.

"He shouldn't be. Unless he's from our dimension...."

"You have that right." 23 spat. "I've been from here all along."

"Who were you then?" Goku asked. Surprisingly, 23 answered him.

"You probably wouldn't know me. I was in the Red Ribbon Army, one of their greatest scientists."

"Did you work with Gero?"

"Yes." 23's teeth clenched. "I was always in his shadow. No matter what I did, he would always end up with the praise for it. If I discovered something, he would instantly snap up the idea. Of course, you destroyed the entire Red Ribbon Army, and then it hardly mattered. Together we worked to destroy you, and for a while our differences were set aside. And then I created 16. Dr. Gero recognized what my genius had created, and he feared me."

"You created 16?"

"Some of him. I never got to finish his programming, or give him a personality. I'm sure Gero bungled that completely. He probably did a bunch of things to it to make it stronger, completely ruining my work. He always was into working with human subjects, and he was good at it, but purely mechanical androids were always my strong point.

"In any case, he managed to get me alone in a room and he gassed the chamber. I might have died then, I'm not really sure, but whatever happened, I found myself elsewhere. Suddenly I was in a dimension where we had won. There, I created a new, android body for myself and plotted my revenge. I knew Gero created more androids, but I had no way of knowing how, or what they were.

"That was why I went back with the others. I was trying to find and destroy his creations completely. What I never anticipated was that Cell creature, or you."

"So then you fell to your back-up plan to rebuild yourself." Goku nodded, understanding slowly coming. "I see."

"You never saw anything," 23 spat. "You're the reason any of this happened."

"What is your real name?" Goku asked, catching 23 off guard. He closed his eyes, then opened them, hate blazing within them second only to Dr. Gero's.

"It hardly matters. I don't really care anymore. Whatever it was that made me survive took a good deal of what I once was. But that doesn't change anything, because I am far greater than I ever was before. You destroyed my world!"

"It was never yours," Goku said calmly. "Gero created that world out of his own hate. If you would have been allowed to stay in this dimension, you might have even created another one of your own. But in either case, I assure you the world did not truly exist."

"Now is the time for reckoning," 23 went on, ignoring him. "I will cleanse this stain on the Red Ribbon Army's honor. I will destroy Dr. Gero's false android. I will prove myself better than him!"

"Don't you understand?" Goku asked, eyes almost amused. "Without him you would be nothing. If not for his hatred, your spirit would have died in that room along with your body. He was the one who sustained that hatred all of those years. It was his androids that wrecked his so-called revenge. Whatever you can do pales in comparison."

"No." 23's eyes lit with a dangerous light, one gleaming with a new intelligence. "You are right. Gero was better than I. He always was. No matter what he may have done, I am alive and he is not. But now I couldn't care less, because you will be destroyed. I didn't steal your saiyan genes for nothing, Goku, I know how to make full use of them."

Throwing back his head, 23 let out a primal roar and energy flooded around him. Silver power burst off everything as the ki within the column of light increased. Goku realized how foolish he had been the next second and gritted his teeth. Even after all this, 23 had managed to stall enough for his energy to regenerate. Watching 23 power up, however, he slowly began to smile. While 23 may have tricked him once, his trick could be made useless in the face of what he had failed to consider.

23's silver hair stood up on end, forming a eerie image of a super saiyan. An aura formed around him, and energy crackled all about him. With another yell, he pushed his power yet higher. Slowly, his hair shivered and began growing longer. Bit by bit it grew, until his silver locks flooded down his back. Cutting off the extended scream, 23 smirked with the new power that flooded through him.

"I can become more of a Super Saiyan than you can," he laughed. "I'm a better saiyan than you are yours-"

His voice suddenly cut off as he realized the only person he was talking to was 18. She smiled slightly at him and brushed aside a lock of hair. Before he could think to act, a beam of pure energy ripped through him from behind. Goku had been far from idle while 23 had powered up. Even now his completely charged Special Beam Cannon tore through the android.

Letting the blast go, Goku dropped his hands. 23 slowly fell, consciousness barely staying near him. He had failed. Somehow, he had failed. Now there was no backup plan, no way to turn the tide of events rushing against him. The pain seemed to be far away, attached to someone else, even though he knew the wound was mortal. It was odd, the things he thought of so near death. Since he was an android now, did he have any sort of spirit? What about the thing that had made him survive long ago, did it rescue his spirit as well? Maybe he would soon awake in the Afterlife, or maybe there would be nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

  
  


Goku and 18 stood there for a long time, contemplating what had happened. Of course, Goku had long ago cleared up what remained of 23, but he remained staring at the place where he had lay for some time. Things had moved so fast, events changed so quickly, assumptions challenged and new realities discovered. Somehow, both of them just needed time to catch up. Eventually the sun began to set, and Goku realized that their worlds were out of synch in time. Pulling himself out of his thoughts, he flew into the air back toward home, and 18 followed.

The cool wind whipped through his hair, and he found himself wondering what 18 was thinking. It must have been odd, seeing a world entirely full of androids. Almost as odd as if he had been on Planet Vegita when it was in its prime. Her face was a mask, but he didn't sense any sort of pain behind it. Good. He didn't ask what she was feeling, it was probably better left unsaid.

When they arrived home, they went to their rooms and fell asleep with barely a word. This night, both of them slept long and deep. 

  
  


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So ends this particular saga, and two of my favorite characters (Light and Dark Goku). Shame to see them go, but there are other things that must yet be done.


	30. Episode XXVIII: Interlude

Okay, everyone, raise your hands if you didn't see this coming. Yeah, that's what I thought.

  
  


Perhaps you can forgive me a bit of the expected, especially those of you with soft hearts. Tell me what you think of it, when you review (by which I mean in more detail than a binary liked/didn't like). Then brace yourself for a bit of the unexpected.

  
  


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Episode XXVIII:

  
  


Goku's Journal Date: 67.8.1

Part of me wonders what I can date this journal. Do I count time in another dimension? Does it move faster or slower than our own? In that case, what is the true measure of time? Do I even want to get into the Theory of Relativity? I really cannot answer any of these questions, but it is probably useless speculation. 

Its surprising how fast things have gotten back into a routine. Almost as if all the events in the other dimension were nothing more than a strange dream. And that thought would be very believable, if not for the obvious changes. My new arm is a constant proof to myself. It didn't take me long to get the blue lightning thing completely under control. I won't be having any sort of outburst again. However, I notice I am still capable of generating it. Most likely a useless talent, but who knows when we'll stumble onto another world of androids?

Work on figuring out Gero's lock has slowed because of being gone so long and out of the pattern of it, but I'm sure it will pick up faster than ever before because of all my experiences in the other dimension. For now, I am content with the slow progress I am making. Being split into Dark and Light has thrown my power off-balance again, but I think in the end I am stronger for it. My training is going well, the exercise there was good for me.

If I have any say in it, I won't be altering any dimensions in the near future. I've had enough of that for some time now. Of course, all of this leaves some questions unanswered, but such is life.

  
  


18's Journal Date: 68.1.3

I can't believe I was in another dimension such a short time ago. As crazy as it seems, it really did happen. What's even crazier is how easily I believe it. For all my knowledge, I never heard of 23, or any other doctor. Of course, it makes sense that Gero would never have mentioned him.

Goku is nearly the same as he was before. I think he finds the schedule comforting, because it keeps his mind off... something. It was bothering him before we left, and it is still there. But he says that he is getting a lot of work done on cracking the code. It could be possible for me to become human within the year, he says.

A world full of androids? A strange thought. But for a while, I was there, and for an even shorter time, I was just a normal person there. The feeling was strange, both pleasant and not. Would life here on earth be the same? I hope I will soon know...

  
  


Goku's Journal Date: 72.10.0

Things are quiet, and while I hate to be cliche, I have to say they are too quiet. 18 is out in the city, of course, and I'm mostly alone in the house. Perhaps I'm just paranoid. Then again, perhaps not. I've checked everything with every resource I have, and nothing seems to be out of place. This sense of foreboding could just be an overactive imagination, or it could be the work of a force greater than that which can be sensed. 

I have little time to write, between my work and my training. So I fear this is my last entry for a while. With any luck, when I write again, nothing disastrous will have happened. 

  
  


Goku was up late reading another of Gero's books, making notes as he went, when 18 stumbled in the door.

"What happened?" Goku glanced up, eyes instantly checking for the problem. She was physically fine, but her soul seemed in torment, her eyes were a disturbed, stormy blue.

"There was a family of Nameks living in one of the old broken-down buildings. They were siphoning water off a human family. Just today, someone found out about what was happening. A huge group of them got together and stoned them. Stoned them, Goku! That's ridiculous, ancient, barbaric! And only because they were Nameks. They killed the family they were stealing from too. Just because of an incredible hate."

18 broke down, sobbing. Goku knew what was happening. He had seen this sort of thing too many times to be affected by it, but this was 18's first time. It was always the most painful, the first time. This was one of those times that he felt different, a time when he realized the merciless 18 was indeed a different person. She fell to the ground, looking very sad and alone. Moving down to her, Goku wrapped his arms around her. Crying, 18 hugged back, just needing someone to be there in her time of grief. Eventually she stopped crying into him and moved back. Goku got up and sat in a chair opposite her.

"Are you my friend, Goku?" The question came out of the blue. Goku choked and fell almost to his knees. Friend. He hadn't heard that word since Piccolo. His only friend ever had been killed, his only true friend. From then on, he hadn't allowed anyone to pierce his mental shields surrounding his mind. Everyone was an outsider, just another element to life. But this question hit close to home, somehow piercing the defenses he'd crafted, making him remember everyone he had thought was his friend, all the good times he'd had. How it had all been lost....

"I'm sorry," 18 gasped, moving down to him. "I didn't mean to-" 

"No." Goku gripped the coffee table and pulled himself up onto a chair. "I'm sorry. That question made me think of some things I'd rather not remember. How I thought everyone was my friend, and how wrong I was. How everyone left me but Piccolo, my old enemy. That's the only friend I've ever had, and your question surprised me. My apology is necessary, not yours."

18 looked into his eyes, which for the first time were totally uncovered. Goku's moment of grief had blow aside all of his mental barriers, at least for a time. Deep within those crystal blue eyes lay layers upon layers of pain, sorrow and suffering. Even deeper, a gleam of the truth glowed. 18 finally saw Goku for who he was, a very lonely, alone person. The next instant it was gone, but neither denied it had happened.

Without knowing what he was doing, Goku started telling his story to 18. He went on and on, allowing his feelings to come out for the first time ever. They had been pent up all this time, just waiting to burst on him, but he had never said a word to anyone. Piccolo could have listened, but he died before Goku could ever talk to him. Now he told 18.

They talked long into the night; 18 taking over and telling about what had happened in her life, at least what she remembered of it. They realized they had both faced horrible things, and came out on top in the end. Their lives had a lot in common, and grief always loves company. Finally, it went past midnight, and both departed to their rooms to get the few hours of rest they did need.

A second before they parted, Goku touched her arm, "18?"

"What?" She turned, eyes questioning.

"You are my friend."

"Thank you." There were tears in her eyes. 18 kissed him, on the lips, then went to her room. More than slightly stunned, Goku went to his.

  
  


She lay on her bed, not sleeping, staring up at the ceiling. What had happened? The merciless 18 was still there, unlimited potential for destruction. But that same 18, the deadly one, was now experiencing feelings she'd never imagined. What was it about Goku? He didn't seem to care about her lack of compassion, he somehow seemed to understand. Even if he did, she didn't. 18 rolled over and attempted to go to sleep.

  
  


18's Journal Date: 82.6.3

Things have been very different around the house after that conversation that Goku and I had. His eyes are constantly much brighter and he seems to be getting excited about something. His research must be going well, he's started tinkering in the lab. I've thought a lot about the nature of friendship. Goku is a true friend, maybe more then that.

No, I shouldn't lie to myself. He is more then that. This is getting to be something beyond my control. But I'm not sure he has the same feelings I do. I will continue to write, because I definitely need it.

  
  


Date: 84.6.1

Goku is staying up constantly without sleeping. He has been sleeping less and less as of late. But he must be getting something accomplished, he now spends most of his time upstairs in his lab. He just found another of Dr. Gero's books, this one seems to be opening up a lot for him. I hope that I can be changed back into a human again soon. Goku seems positive.

  
  


Date: 86.4.8

Something has been done. Goku is frantically working and training at a fevered pitch now. He still finds the time, somehow, to get to our nightly training sessions. Just yesterday he relaxed long enough to watch a beautiful sunset with me. He's starting to loosen up a lot more when I'm around. I still don't know how he feels about me, but he hasn't mentioned when I kissed him a few weeks ago. I don't know if no news is good news or not. I can't really get in touch with my emotions enough to say anything.

Just a few minutes ago, he went running up to the lab, muttering something about being almost there. I don't want to bother him, but I'm sure he'll be back down soon, with results.

  
  


A soft snow fell lightly over the evergreen forest. Goku walked just atop the snow, not disturbing any of it. Reaching a relative center, he gazed through the branches around him. For once, the world seemed beautiful. Of course, if all this dark ki kept up, this sort of thing would soon be nonexistent. Somehow, out here without anyone else, things seemed so much purer. Yes, it was somewhat of an illusion, he knew, but it still felt that way.

It was nice to just be in something natural. Natural was not the way he had been feeling recently. Getting involved with all sorts of schematics and charts really made him get a bit separated from the world. Worse yet, his experimenting had gone further than just trying to find a way to change 18 back. He had been scanning his own DNA recently, and the results were very disturbing.

Comparing with what little he knew of saiyan genes, Goku discovered that his DNA had actually changed. Ordinarily, he knew, changes in his body didn't effect the way his DNA was structured. Training, for example, had never altered it a bit. But now it had changed a lot, as if his body had been meant to be like this all along. Some parts of his DNA seemed almost copied off of other's. The regeneration genes, for example, were from Piccolo. Already he was developing certain things from 18; he had already noticed he wasn't needing as much sleep. Other things didn't have any explanations though. He had been getting younger, and he had no idea why.

But what did it mean? For all the data he'd gathered about it, it ultimately meant nothing. The changes left him feeling the same, but he knew that he was different. Of all things, his metallic arm disturbed him the most. He still hadn't managed to find a reason why he could shift to and from its metal form. Somehow, the metal was actually part of his arm, but that made no sense. From his observations, he knew that his hand was actually made of millions of tiny robots, each of which he controlled. Maybe the robots could change themselves to look like a hand. Either that, or his hand's cells could make themselves look like metal.

To a certain degree, it was probably pointless speculation. All these things did was make him stronger. Yet, in this endless evolution, would he lose his-. Goku cut off the thought abruptly. He had been about to say "humanity." Whatever the corresponding word would be for saiyans, it might somehow be lost.

Further compounding the entire matter was the situation with 18. Goku shook the thought from his mind, actually physically shaking his head, dislodging snow flakes from his deep black hair. Right now, he didn't need to think about that. There were too many uncertainties. Too many choices to make, on both sides. Sighing one more time, his breath visible in the air, Goku turned and walked slowly from the forest.

Behind him, the perfect snow remained untouched. 

  
  


Goku's Journal Date: 82.23.7

I am finally getting to the experimenting stage in my research. Dr. Gero's puzzle is making sense now, it doesn't seem nearly as complicated as it once was. I think it is only a matter of time; even different test tubes show progress. Dr. Gero's final fortress cannot stand for long.

18 and I have an odd relationship going now. I'm not sure what we really are, but more than just friends. Ever since that kiss, I think I've known about her feelings, but I do not want any room for error. Any. We were good friends before this, and I wouldn't want to ruin it. At this point there is far too much at stake for anything of that nature.

  
  


Date: 85.15.6

Another of Dr. Gero's books has triggered something in me. I read the entire thing, and I think I have a clue as what to do. Every day that goes by, his puzzle seems easier and easier, and I'm less impressed with his intelligence. Also, by now I barely even sleep, except for a few minutes after a hard day. I took the time recently to relax with 18 and watch a sunset. It was beautiful, and I enjoyed it. I think she did as well. She has an emotional wall, one without mercy or regard for life, but there's something about it that isn't so bad. And deep beneath that, the emotionless monster is still capable of feeling emotion...

I found her journal sitting out one day, and, being the nosy person I have a tendency to be, I read it. It seems that my suspicions are correct; our feelings are almost the same about each other. But before I say anything, we need to see how this operation plays out. One choice could make all the difference. 

  
  


Date: 86.4.9

At last! I believe that I have found my key to a very difficult puzzle. After rushing up to the lab, I am now about to conduct the final experiment, if this works. If not, I will work even longer. I am now going to mix both of my chemicals and all of my formulas. If everything turns out right, the mixture should turn red. They have just finished settling now.

Yes! It worked. After adding all of them together, the liquid is red. Now for the final ingredient. When I add this one, if all went well, my formula should turn blue. If not, I have failed. Now is truly the time to see if Dr. Gero is the smartest man on Earth or not. If this works, that means that my model will be better than his in every way, he'll have finally met his better in intelligence. I don't know where it is all coming from- wait, the liquid has almost set. I'll try...

...I have succeeded! I am now holding a vial of blue liquid. After capping it off carefully, my work is done. I have proved that even a lock that Dr.Gero himself could not undo can be undone, and that I have undone it. No matter what happens after this, I'll feel good, just for having beaten him.

Next is taking the vial to 18. After she drinks it, she'll be asleep for 24 hours, then when she wakes up, she'll be fully human again. This is so much better than anything I have done before. I look back on my first operation as almost primitive. I'll regret the loss of another warrior to help me, but right now I'd do almost anything for 18. I have to give her the choice, if she really wants to do it. For better or for worse, here goes.

  
  


18 glanced up. Goku was standing in her doorway, holding up a vial of a blue liquid triumphantly.

"It is complete," he said, unsmiling. "All you would have to do is drink this."

"And then I'm human?" 18 asked incredulously.

"No." Goku shook his head. "You'd be put to sleep for 24 hours. At the end of the time, the transformation will be complete."

"Could I now?"

"Yes." Goku paused, swirling it around in the vial. "There is only one thing left."

"What is that?"

Goku walked over and set the vial down on her desk. "Consider carefully. Do you really want to?" 

And then Goku was gone, moving back to his own room.

  
  


18 glanced again at the vial. It sat there, almost humming with energy, with potential. Taking it from the shelf, 18 took the top off and looked inside. The liquid looked harmless enough. She raised it to her lips- and faltered. Even now, she wasn't strong enough. Goku's final comment, while intended to guide, now was keeping her from doing anything. 18 set it back down and put the lid back on.

Taking it with her, 18 moved out to the balcony and sat down, watching the sun set on the horizon, long shadows covering everything. Sitting on the rail, 18 held the vial up in front of her, looking through it. What could she be possibly forgetting? She wanted with all her heart to be human, didn't she? Yes, to finally be accepted into the city itself. Maybe she could save everyone there and evacuate them into the dome. Stars were beginning to come out and she still hadn't made any progress.

"Can't decide?" the voice startled her. Glancing around, 18 didn't see anyone. Deep shadows covered the balcony, she couldn't see much of it. Suddenly in the shadows beside her, two glowing eyes opened. Slanted eyes. Goku had been here before she had decided to come out here and she hadn't noticed the entire time.

"No," 18 said. "I can't. Why should it be so difficult? I want with every bit of essence I have to be human again!"

"Do you?" The response was harsher and sadder than most of Goku's. He sounded tired, not at all like himself. There was more bitterness than ever before. 18 said nothing, considering the sentence. Did she?

"You'd be accepted into society. They wouldn't give it another thought. You can go in their minds from evil killer to ally- hate is a random thing. I can guarantee they would."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Do you want to be accepted into society?" The sentence hit something within her directly. 18 turned to him, forcing herself to look into those eyes. They seemed to grow, overwhelming her, and suddenly memories started bubbling up inside her, things she couldn't remember or didn't want to.

The humans killing each other even as the androids eradicated them. A mob of humans throwing rocks at Goku when he got too near the city. The rocks and cries of "android" when she had gotten too close. The stoning of the Namekiian family, the look on the tiny Namek's face as he was crushed. Dr. Gero creating the androids in his hatred and committing near genocide on the saiyans. Gero using all of them on the earthlings, Gero now considering them "expendable." Hercule taking credit for Goku's actions.

18 fell to the ground, tightly gripping the vial. Different things started coming to mind. Goku wrapping himself around the planet core to save all the Nameks who hated him. Goku killing Vegita to protect others who hated him. 17 dying, because his hatred was more than Goku's tortured mind could bear. The people throwing rocks at him shortly after he had just defeated Cell. Their hatred of everyone.

The tiny Namekiian child came to mind, the images flashing through her mind, hundreds of them. More than she could bear. Finally they settled on Goku's sacrifice on Namek, on Earth every time his being scorned and mocked by people who didn't care. How he had just taken it, absorbing the hatred.

Shaking in anger and incredible feeling, 18 moved over to the rail and looked at the vial. Tears flowing freely from her eyes for the first time, 18 dropped the vial. She opened her hand and watched the blue glimmer fall to the ground, then shatter in a brief sparkle of glass that caught the last remaining sunlight. Even as the sunlight faded the choice was made and set forever.

Turning again, 18 fell to the ground, sobbing and completely spent. After a brief instant, she felt two strong arms wrapping around her. Crying, more than she ever had, 18 wrapped her arms fiercely around Goku's shoulders. Goku just stayed there, holding her slender frame gently close to his. At last she opened her eyes, looking out toward the stars. There was a change, her eye slant was different now. It was like Goku's.

"Would they really have accepted me?" she asked quietly. Goku nodded.

"The race would have been enough, it's really is only a facet of what's wrong with this planet. So many minor things, hate coming in every way. Anything that can cause more hate is used to the extreme; we just feel the brunt of the race difference. But there are so many others, creating such shallow people."

"I had thought I wanted to be returned to what I was," 18 said. "But now I don't feel the need at all."

"You never wanted to be human," Goku whispered softly, "you wanted humanity."

"Do I have it?" she asked.

"Yes," Goku said, even softer. "You think, you reason, you understand. You feel emotions. There is nothing that humans have that you don't. But you have things they will never have, understanding of the truth, and ultimately, humanity."

"Thank you," was all 18 could whisper.

Still holding her, Goku kissed her this time. 18 kissed back, and in that moment, they both understood and accepted completely. There weren't any misunderstandings anymore, and everything would be all right. And for an instant, standing in the starry sky, holding each other, two hearts were one.


	31. Episode XXIX: Interlude

This chapter is somewhat of a buffet line, a collection of different elements, all of which are advanced, but none of which are explored in detail. It should work, nonetheless, as two important things do happen in this chapter. Expect the beginning of another arc next week, most likely.

  
  


Dreamwraith... I assure you that you're being paranoid. Flowers for Algernon was a great book, and I love all the subtle changes communicated through the story. But it's not for me. Besides, there are things going on that you aren't aware of at the moment.

  
  


-

  
  


Goku's Journal Date: 92.15.5

Things have changed ever since that night. Yes, I can now say complete love. 18 understands now as well. I've been very worried about being hasty, but I just realized that it has been almost a year that we've been living together, almost three years since we first met. We both continue about our jobs, but now things are different.

She's still apparently cold, but that's all a part of her as well. And it's just one more thing that I love about her, as I have grown to. I've seen what is beneath, the side that has as much emotion as anyone else. The two feelings are slowly realizing their relationship as one person, and we will soon have the best possible combination.

The dome is working well; I think we'll need it soon. 18 informed me that the ozone layer is now rapidly becoming thinner. It has started to make a difference. I noticed a certain area above one of the factories the humans have set up is very weakened. In fact, there will be a hole soon, with consequences unknown to me. The amount of dark ki coming from the area could be enough to make one, with just a single incident. I'll have to watch it carefully.

Love is an interesting thing, especially when both people feel it. I'm not sure what my relationship with Chi-chi was, but it wasn't anything like this. Vegita told me once that he understood love and I didn't. Maybe I didn't, but he certainly didn't either. But now I can say, without a doubt, that this is love. For a brief while I feared this was a twisted sort of infatuation, but there's more of a chance of going too far in the other direction than that. This somehow brings a final closure to Vegita, and I can feel that his spirit has been laid to rest with me.

  
  


18's Journal Date: 92.7.1

Love? When Dr. Gero created the androids, I don't think that was one of the emotions that he intended. I realize now the full extent of how incredibly twisted his mind was, nothing but hate could survive inside it. But none the less, I have emotions other than his hateful ones. Sorrow, remorse, pity. Yes, even love. I've gone beyond what I was intended to be.

At first I thought I wanted to be human, but Goku helped me realize that what I wanted was humanity. And one of the last places I'd get that was from humans themselves. I have become something better, and I'm very happy with my decision. Now all that remains is to take my life wherever it leads.

  
  


Walking to the most shadowy corner of his room, Goku opened a drawer. Dust flew off at his touch, as it had been so long since he had touched this particular drawer. For a very good reason. There was only one thing inside, one old but well-preserved picture.

It seemed so long ago that he had taken it from Bulma's wall. He had made no effort to mend or replaced the shattered glass. Something about it seemed so fitting, so right. Most of all, it was the truth. All that his life had formerly been, had shattered. But now he was rebuilding. Amidst all the pain and destruction, things were slowly improving. Maybe it would take his life to remake the world, but if it did, he would die happy.

This was from the past. Even if Goku could mend the picture, the relationships it represented, he wasn't sure he would. Those things were behind him now. Smiling slightly, Goku replaced the broken picture, closed the drawer, and walked from the room.

  
  


Tapping a key, Goku checked on the ozone layer. He blinked; the hole had finally made its way through, and it was now striking the factory itself. Zooming in on it, Goku realized that the building was on fire. The computer calculated that exactly 500 people were inside. The building didn't look too stable, either.

"18!" he yelled, zipping downstairs. "The factory finally caught fire. There are 500 people inside!"

18 floated up and followed him up as they flew out into the night sky. Goku gestured with two fingers to his head and 18 understood. Instant Transmission would be much faster. He had taken the time to teach her that technique. It was very efficient for getting places fast.

They both appeared outside the flaming building. Everyone able was running away, not caring about those inside. Both of them started teleporting into the building, grabbing as many people as they could and warping out. After putting them in a big group, they went back in for more. The flames were chemical and sometimes flared green and blue, leaving lines across their vision. Still, it couldn't hurt either of them at all. For almost half an hour, they moved in and out, making as many survivors as possible.

When the building collapsed on itself, they had gotten all but a dozen of the people out. Goku searched the building for signs of ki, but there weren't any. At least they had gotten a lot of them out. Both he and 18 stood by the ashes and lumps of metal that remained of the building. Goku pulled out a small box and pressed the button on the center. Miles away, the metal dome under their house shifted and rolled over the top, shielding it. The sun was already starting to send rays through the ozone. This slow hole, a break of concentrated hatred, would be much easier than another way would have been. At least it wouldn't wipe out humanity for good now.

"Saiyan!"

"Android!"

Both of them turned to see a group of people, including those they had rescued, standing in front of them, no longer a scared clump, but an angry, seething mob. A rock flew, hitting Goku in the eye. It bounced off, and Goku didn't even blink. Undaunted, the crowd threw more rocks in their direction. They showered off them uselessly, but the mob seemed unwilling to relent.

Hoping no one would get hurt, or 18 would hurt someone, Goku created an energy shield around both of them. 18 touched it as well and added her own energy. The result was a silvery white dome that spread over them. The humans outside tossed rocks, but they evaporated into steam when they touched the bubble.

Inside, Goku smiled and bent down into the rubble. Taking a large hunk of coal from a small fire still burning, Goku held it in one hand. Concentrating, Goku started crushing his hand together. 18 looked closer, a bit puzzled. Then Goku opened his hand and she understood. Carbon made coal, lead and diamonds. Diamonds were made only under extreme pressure. The kind Goku could provide. In his hand he held one large, perfect diamond. Stepping closer to 18, Goku held it out, a silent question. The ultimate question.

Smiling back at him, 18 took the diamond, giving him the answer he already knew. It blazed with incredible brilliance, somehow reflecting off of the light in their eyes. They both raised two fingers to their foreheads and vanished. The energy bubble vanished as well, leaving a few attackers hitting it suddenly stumbling in the rubble, falling flat on their faces in ash.

"Blech!" Hercule spat out a clod of dirt from his mouth. Disgusting! 

Goku and 18 appeared in the house again. Their house. It was time to start new lives, still with pain and sorrow, still with more suffering, but now there was someone else there to bear it with them.

Piccolo smiled, walking slowly through the grass in the Afterlife. He could have flown, but he didn't necessarily want to be fast right now. It was harder to reflect when you were traveling that fast. Piccolo smiled again; there really wasn't anything to dampen his mood anymore. Of course, there was still one major event to happen, and who knew what sort of cards his opponents would pull, but he wasn't worried. 

At least Goku had someone to be with right now. It wasn't good for him to take so much hate alone. 18 was a lot better than Chi-chi, whom Piccolo had never liked anyway. Now Goku had someone who could not only fight, but understood the truth as well. Much less susceptible to emotions. Not that he was the great judge of love, but they seemed to be a perfect match. Yeah, they'd be fine. He'd be fine, things were going just fine.

Sitting down on a ledge, Piccolo sat there, gazing out over the world. Things were in bad condition, due to the lack of ozone, but that was okay. The three people in the galaxy that he cared about, himself, Goku and 18 were all very safe at the moment. Yes, life, or rather death, was good.

  
  


Dai Kioshin was not having nearly as good of a time. Gritting his teeth and pacing, he moved in a circle around his observing chair. He'd done everything he could to keep them apart, and they had resisted the entire way. Partially because of that stupid Namek.

Glancing up, Dai Kioshin saw Piccolo sitting on top of a cliff. Piccolo waved cheerily, sending him into a fuming rage. He had done that just to irritate him. Well, his cards weren't all out yet; it was time to lay his full hand on the table. It was going to be a gloves-off fight, with Goku matched against an opponent he could not possibly defeat. It was only a matter of time...

  
  


Checking the condition of the planet, Goku made sure everything was in working order, then stepped out to the balcony with 18 and nodded. Both blasted off and flew away from the dome, landing in an empty wasteland. They both touched down, dust whirling away as they dropped to the ground again. Things seemed too dry, but the sky was cloudy and looked promising.

"This time," Goku explained, "don't hold anything back. Full power for both of us."

Energy flooded out from both of them, then they clashed, the shock waves sending dust hurtling from the point of impact. The fight was explosive, with both putting all their energy into attacking. Eventually Goku's blows began to connect more frequently, and 18 was sent tumbling backward and through a pillar. Gasping for breath, Goku landed and signaled for the fight to end. She managed to get to her feet, and stood beside him, slowly regaining her energy.

"Why do we do it that way?"

"What?" Goku looked over at her from the side of his eyes.

"I mean why do we do a fight like this, whereas the rest of the time we're on lower power mainly just slugging on each other?"

"Oh." Nodding, Goku straightened up. "It has to do with the most effective method of training. When you need a lot of power in a short amount of time, it is best to just train constantly, as in never stopping. But over longer periods of time, that loses effectiveness. Not only is it bad for you, it doesn't actually raise your power level as much. However, this does tend to put power into latency."

"And this lets it back out again. You give quite a bit of thought to training, don't you?"

He merely grinned and continued. "Balance is generally the best path to follow. I think I've got about the perfect amount of training, and it really helps to have someone to spar with. While I'm don't claim to know everything, I think we have about the best training we can get now. Just a matter of keeping it up."

"You ready to fight again?"

"If you are."

Both were still a bit tired from the last fight, but they had enough energy regenerated from their rest to attack a fair amount. One of 18's haymakers hit Goku on the jaw, and instead of slowing his flight he allowed himself to continue tumbling backward.

18 followed up, and was struck as he suddenly turned on power, flying directly at her. Crashing through a building, the combatants moved steadily closer to the city. Goku was mentally relieved no one lived here, because they were causing an incredible amount of damage. He managed to knock 18 down to the ground, and the shock waves caused buildings adjacent to them to fall and collapse. 

Neither had noticed the sky, which had been growing darker as they fought. Now a torrent of rain came down, drenching them both. For a while they kept fighting, but then mutually determined to rest until the rain had ceased. Landing on the no-longer parched ground, Goku found shelter underneath a fallen building. Pushing out an aura, Goku dried them off and then sat down next to the wall of rain marking the entrance. The two of them just stared out into the rain for a while, as outside the rain became steadily thicker and thicker.

"I've been wondering," 18 asked after a while. "What's the link between your power and anger? At certain times you've gotten extremely angry, and then at others, not at all. It doesn't seem to always have a direct correspondence to your power. Can you explain that to me?"

"Sort of. For a saiyan, anger is really just a tool. It helps you reach the next level of power. The strange thing is, the less angry you are, the more effective your fighting becomes. Like before, it's a delicate balance. In general, I generate anger from any reason I can get, and that helps me get closer to the next level. But at a certain point, the key thing is to stop becoming dependant on anger for power, and the less you are, the more focused your power becomes."

"When have you been really angry, not just generating anger?"

"Not sure. Sometimes it blurs together. In general, I don't get extremely angry. Is there a reason you asked?"

"Not in particular. Curious, I guess."

"Hm. To finish, anyway, anger is generally the key to unlocking a different type of Super Saiyan but otherwise a liability."

"There's more than two? I just knew of the normal one and then the next level."

"You know, now's as good a time as any to explain." Goku got up and gathered an aura, then stepped outside. The rain pattered against the outside of it, sizzling off into steam.

"The first level is just normal Super Saiyan, the most basic version." Without flinching, Goku suddenly powered up, his hair exploding in power and his aura becoming a golden color. He went on, "Between this and the next level are a few other things that ultimately fail. I think this next level is generally called Super Saiyan stage 2. You shouldn't see any difference except it's stronger."

"What form did I first see you in?"

"Somewhere between this and a little bit more." Goku thought about that, then nodded, "that sounds right. Anyway, the next step is Ultimate Super Saiyan."

There was a flash and Goku's muscle mass increased greatly, nearly to the point of grotesque.

"What's that?" 18 asked, vaguely disgusted.

"You probably haven't ever seen Ultimate. I discovered it training in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, while you were in Cell. The form is seriously flawed, as I've poured too much power into my strength, and my speed had been decreased greatly. Very ineffective."

Powering down, Goku's aura whirled around him a second as his muscles contracted to a more ordinary size, then he nodded. "This is Master Super Saiyan, about as effective as you can become before going to the next stage . Not as strong as Ultimate, but the speed is far greater. Plus, it doesn't drain as much energy."

"I haven't noticed your energy draining any more in Super Saiyan." As far as she could tell, it didn't drain any more energy than normally. Goku shook his head.

"I wasn't being coherent. Actually, it does drain more. The difference is that I get more energy from the transformation than I lose, so I actually have a greater amount. I wouldn't ever use a form that would drain more energy than I do normally."

"Smart. That was the problem with most of the other warriors."

Goku just nodded, and quickly moved on. "However effective this is, Super Saiyan 2 is the next level. I'd also call this an Ascended Super Saiyan."

His aura burst out even further, now burning the buildings around them. His muscles grew slightly, as did his hair, and a few locks hung over his face, blowing gently in the energy around him.

"I'm trying to keep my power around myself," Goku explained. "But at this point I start losing some of my control. This could get explosive. Anyway, now everything has increased greatly. It's a very balanced form, just in general. I got to here when I killed Cell."

"Anything else?"

"I think there is, but I haven't reached it. But I figure that if there's a second level, there could be a third. Still, I seem to be running into a wall on that one. I'll show you what I mean."

Growling in generated anger, Goku threw his head back and allowed the energy to rip through the area around him. Inside buildings, glass shattered and eventually the buildings began to shatter themselves. Energy waves began flowing from around him, and 18 felt it run through her, vibrating every bone in her body. The rain in almost the entire city was being evaporated before it got anywhere near them.

The next wave was gigantic, and 18 had to brace herself. Feeling his ki, it was enormous; her own was enveloped inside it. Around them the city was in ruins. Even miles away in the last human city, people saw a brilliant light, and any with the ability to sense ki went into shock.

Stopping, Goku breathed heavily for a while, but couldn't keep up that level of energy for long before it decreased. He dropped the form altogether, allowing himself to return to normal. The rain no longer fell, as if reluctant to even try again.

"That was as close as I can get," Goku breathed heavily. "And I'm not sure what the problem is. I'd think I have sufficient anger to do it, but there's always the possibility that I need an incredible amount."

"Does it have to require anger?" 18 asked, and Goku looked at her strangely.

"That's a thought," he seemed to mull it over in his mind a second. "I suppose it could be. Maybe for the next level, calm is even more important than anger. It's definitely a possibility, but Super Saiyan generally doesn't work that way. It could also be a fundamental issue of power."

"That isn't enough?"

"Well, if I didn't want to make sure my energy drain and energy gain were constant, it'd probably get easier. But I don't want myself to sacrifice that just to reach another level. Actually, it might be worth it, if this is as strong as I think it will be. Still, I think I'll stick to my guns this way."

"I have to say, that was impressive."

He smiled, and nodded. "Thanks."

They moved back out from where the city had been, now both fairly rested. Goku looked tired from his explanation, but didn't seem to mind. As soon as they were at the wastes again, they attacked, and continued training. Powerful shocks blast from the area, and the ki residue lasted for a long time.

  
  


Dai Kioshin was shocked at the amount of power that had been displayed, but was far less worried than he had been. There would be a major problem taking him out, but ultimately it would never affect his plan. Evil and the Legendary One would show their faces, and things would work out. A black wind blew past the planet, and Dai Kioshin shuddered. It was as if something was coming that would change everything. No. Everything was going to be alright, there would be no new problems.

Still, the saiyan's progress disturbed him; disturbed him very much indeed.

  
  


Slightly deeper than reality, a Darkness began to form. Time had marched inexorably on, its power had rose and fell. The plan headed closer to completion, and no one was the wiser for it. There were a few, of course, who disrupted the greatest work, but the majority were helpfully working toward the goal. 

Things had not gone as well as they could have. One important link in the plan had been destroyed, and another had failed. Despite all efforts, an aura of stability was slowly building on Earth. Now, however, that hardly mattered, as there were other planes of existence that would offer far less resistance. Yes, that was the way to go. There would be far more power there, and perhaps a certain opponent could be eliminated.

Reality and super-reality touched for an instant, and events were set into motion. Setbacks were to be expected, but they meant nothing in the face of the entire war. In the end the universe would all be as it had once been. Nothing.


	32. Episode XXX: Afterlife

And so begins yet another plot arc. It is in this one that you finally get some questions answered, questions that have been running throughout the entire story, whether you realize it or not. Also, a bonus for those of you who love a certain Namek: he's back in the game.

  
  


-

  
  


Arcing into the air, Piccolo evaded the combat temporarily. Another dark form rushed toward him, but Piccolo kicked upward, sending it reeling. Normally he would have finished it off, but for now time was more important than victory. Besides, it didn't matter if he actually killed the creature, another one would just be created.

Flying at full speed, Piccolo ripped past other battles going on all over the Afterlife. Of all the calculations he had made, this had not been indicated in any of them. The only thing that could mean was that something outside of ordinary time had taken a hand. In a way, he had seen this chaos coming into play, but he hadn't imagined it would be now, or in this way. So now both Dai's and his own plans were thrown off.

To be honest, he knew relatively little about all those who were attacking. He had figured out that each of them were manifestations of some of his own dark feelings. Most of the others were frantically fighting a war that they couldn't possibly win, because more and more warriors continued to be generated from their own beings. Still, the blows they struck were real enough, and Piccolo dealt with them as he had to.

Most important now was to end the threat at the source. What disturbed him was that this attack was relatively useless, as if it was covering for something far greater to come. Right now, he needed backup. That wasn't something he was likely to get from anyone here, even if they would agree to help him. Landing, Piccolo looked around carefully. This was the place, and no other creatures were appearing around him. His back was covered, as all of the former Z Fighters were battling the main army, serving their purpose well.

Barriers that had cut him off before were now severed, and Piccolo reached his senses down toward Earth, in a simple message to a certain occupant.

  
  


Goku's head snapped up as he heard Piccolo's voice echo in his mind. Opposite him, 18 realized something was going on and terminated the attack she had been about to launch. Opening his mind, Goku allowed the message, whatever it was, to leak over to her mind as well.

Goku, Piccolo called, voice slowly gaining in strength, can you hear me?

"You're clear." Goku hoped Piccolo could hear his reply.

Good. Things up in the Afterlife are bad, we're under no less than an all-out assault.

"Who's attacking?"

That's the strange thing. Something is generating the attack, but it is indiscriminate. All of heroes are being attacked, but so are all the old villains. This attack is almost useless, but I'm sure there's something behind it."How can we help?"

I was hoping you'd say that. I'll bring you here.

"How is that possible?"

Ordinarily, it would be entirely impossible. But everyone is attacked, including Kais and Kioshins, and the very barriers of the Afterlife have been shaken. Without all the ordinary barriers, my powers are at their peak. I should be able to bring both of you into the Afterlife. If anyone notices you, they'll probably send you back, and if we restore the barriers you'll be sent back as well.

"Do you think we can help?"

Right now, we have things handled. But I've sensed much more than this type of attack. In the future, I may not just want your help, I may need it.

"Alright. What do we need to do?"

Just stay there. Are both of you ready?

Goku glanced at 18, she nodded. "Yeah, we're ready," he told Piccolo.

I want to make sure you reach here without being seen, so I'll have to be very careful about it. Give me a few minutes and you'll see me.

His presence faded, leaving Goku and 18 alone on the field once again.

"So that was Piccolo?" 18 asked. Goku nodded.

"My first friend. But you know all about that already."

"Yes."

"It will be great seeing him again. It's been a long time, and our meetings have been brief."

"I'd like to meet him."

"I'm sure after we figured out the problem, you'll have time."

Just then a ring of energy floated from the ground around them, collecting into a wider band. Slowly it filled out into a column that grew bright enough to block out the rest of the world. When it faded, they found themselves in the Afterlife, standing on a grassy prairie. Piccolo stood with his back away from them, focusing on the horizon.

"Tally ho," he greeted them stoically. "You're just in time."

"Yes?" Goku asked, coming to stand beside him. Piccolo nodded to him.

"I sense something worse than all the rest elsewhere."

Feeling where Piccolo was focusing on, Goku felt something blackly evil. It reminded him strongly of Ebony, but this one felt slightly different, as well as much stronger. Behind them, a black form rose from the ground unnoticed. It leapt toward them silently, but 18 sensed its presence and smashed it directly. The shape hurtled backward through the air and dispersed on the tree it struck.

"First," Piccolo amended, "we have to deal with all the monsters your arrival created."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, already turning toward the black shapes that rose from the ground.

"They're manifestations of things in yourself. Not too strong, but when they first attack they can be pretty annoying. We'll deal with the first wave and then move on."

"Alright."

By now ranks had formed in front of them. Piccolo charged energy in one hand while patiently waiting for the attack. Goku slashed forward through them, and then everything shattered. The manifestations rushed forward, supplemented by a few from Piccolo as well. While they were still close together, Piccolo fired his collected energy in a focused attack that took out the bulk of the pack.

Small black forms were flying from multiple directions as 18 leaped into the fray. Ducking a swipe, Piccolo imbedded a foot into his attacker's stomach, then whirled and took down a few nearby ones. Catching another's fist, Piccolo pushed him off balance, and used his other hand to finish off another behind him. Whirling quickly in a circle, the Namek sliced through the nearby ones. Above him, a black shape began careening downward in attack.

An orange flash cut it off midway down, and Goku skidded down, to stand beside Piccolo. The attack had ended nearly as soon as it had begun. Piccolo had forgotten quite how powerful Goku seemed in person, and 18 wasn't a lightweight either. In fact, with the training they had been doing, they were probably both superior to him.

Grateful they were all on the same team, Piccolo nodded to both of them.

"We need to check out that disturbance now."

"Can you tell where it is?"

"Afterlife Rim. It'll take us a minute or two to reach it. Unless you can pull off Instant Transmission."

"Can do," Goku smiled, one hand coming to rest on Piccolo's shoulder as the other touched his forehead. 18 quickly followed them, and the world dissolved around them.

"I've got to learn that one," Piccolo muttered as they materialized in a different location. He could have saved a lot of time when he was going from King Kai's planet to elsewhere. But that was behind him now, what was of more concern was the being in front of them.

Goku and 18 saw what looked to be a perfect double of Ebony, same darkness, same barely visible shape, with a much higher power level. Piccolo, on the other hand, saw a collection of evil, darker than any he'd ever seen. Soon after he sensed all the ties that went to him, coming from every direction, making him appear like the spider in the middle of a huge web.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Piccolo asked. Goku nodded grimly.

"I've faced this type before. This one's probably causing all these problems."

"Well, well," the creature turned to them, dismissing them with a flicker of its red eyes. "So you two are the ones that have caused so much trouble in my machinations."

Two? Goku's mind instantly searched slightly about him, and found no trace of 18. Pushing his senses a bit further, he found her suspended behind the creature, as of yet unmoving. Waiting for the best time to attack, he realized. All he had to do was cause a bit of a distraction, or let time elapse somehow.

"Not that it matters," the creature continued. "You're fighting nothing but symptoms. Nothing you can do can actually damage any of my plans. There's already enough power collected to wreck havoc throughout the Afterlife."

"Who are you?" Piccolo asked, and Goku figured he had sensed 18 as well.

"Ah yes, you mortals are always so concerned about names." Red eyes flickered again with disdainful amusement. "Names are but passing. But it would be impolite to continue to remain mysterious, wouldn't it? I've been called Eclipse before, and I suppose the name will work well enough now. So now, aren't you going to attack me?"

Hoping to catch him off guard, Goku flew forward as abruptly as possible. Midway there, he realized Eclipse was prepared to dodge, and could probably do so easily. He would have done so had not 18 plowed into his back, stunning him for the brief instant Goku needed to slam him at full power. A second later Piccolo added his own attack to the fray, a violent strike downward that sent Eclipse crashing into the ground.

For an instant there was silence, and then all weaved to the side as a torrent of darkness burst up from the ground. Boulders were thrown aside in the blast, and then Eclipse leapt up to fight them again. All three blocked his initial whirlwind of attacks, then Eclipse put all his strength into a blow that forced Piccolo to the ground and along it a few feet. The momentary distraction cost him, however, and both Goku and 18 slammed him again. Falling, he met Piccolo's upward strike, which sent him flying into the air again.

He flipped quickly, surprising both Goku and 18. Barely weaving to the side, Goku avoided his foot, but 18 was struck, sending her flying across the sky. Piccolo flew up, to meet a energy-filled strike from Eclipse. Hitting the ground with Eclipse close behind, Piccolo held both legs above him, ramming Eclipse in the gut, where he stayed long enough for Goku's sweeping kick to hit him again.

Flying into the air for apparent safety, Eclipse suddenly fell victim to a series of ki blasts that rushed across the sky. When 18 stopped her blast and flew closer, all of them saw Eclipse on his knees, smoking faintly. Glaring savagely at them, he slowly got to his feet.

"Very good." His form grew a bit more solid. "But my victory is not required for the plan to succeed. Go ahead, take your paltry victory. It hardly matters."

Sensing him about to do something, Piccolo slid forward, but Eclipse had already faded from view. 18 tried to catch the trail of where he went, but it slipped from her mind swiftly. Goku dropped to the ground and 18 followed suit. Piccolo glanced around grimly.

"We stopped the initial attack. There will be no more manifestations."

"I sense that wasn't the reason you needed us," Goku said dryly. 

"I'm sure we aren't going to like whatever he accomplished," 18 commented. Piccolo nodded to them both.

"That's a certainty. I think this was just a coverup for whatever he was trying to get done."

"Do we have any idea what they were after?" Goku asked.

"Nothing really," Piccolo responded. "But I might have a wild guess. They gained a massive amount of dark energy from all this chaos. I'm not sure what they can do with that, but that might have been their goal. We should be on the lookout for something else."

"In the meantime, is there any way we can figure out more about these guys? It disturbs me that they know all about us, yet we know nearly nothing about them."

"I agree. And yes, we need to do some research."

"Where?" 18 asked. Piccolo stopped her before she moved further.

"You two can't go to the rest of the Afterlife looking like this. Someone would notice how alive you are and kick you back out again. The dimension is already stabilizing, and we can't afford any undue attention."

"Do you have a solution?"

"As a matter of fact," Piccolo's hands moved in front of him, and when they stopped he had formed a golden ring of energy, "I do."

"What is that?" Goku touched it experimentally. The ring was nothing but normal energy.

"Put it on your head," Piccolo suggested. Instantly Goku understood. When he placed the ring over himself, he found it remained hovering about a foot above his head. A perfect replica of a halo, or at least it appeared that way to Goku.

"It looks great on you," Piccolo commented wryly as he formed another ring, which he handed to 18. She placed it over her and glanced up at it. Piccolo smiled.

"That's better. With any luck, no one will give you a second look."

"Thanks." Goku turned, scanning the horizon. "Can we use Instant Transmission to get where we're going?"

"Probably not." Piccolo shook his head. "I doubt anyone is there."

"We'll fly then."

All three lifted off, and shifted into a triangle with Piccolo in the lead. He quickly shifted their path toward wherever they had been headed. They had barely begun flying when Piccolo twisted slightly in flight to face them, without losing any speed.

"I just remembered we were never properly introduced." He made an odd sideways bow. "Piccolo, at your service."

"And you already know I'm 18."

"Yes, I do. Goku knows everyone here, of course. Congratulations are in order for you both." 

"You're a bit late, Piccolo." Goku smiled slightly.

"Ah well, I don't get around to seeing you much, seeing as how I'm completely dead. My phrase stands."

Their conversation abruptly stopped as another warrior passed in the opposite direction. He merely nodded to them and continued on. When he was out of hearing range, all of them breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"You know," Goku said, "you seem nearly the same as you did years ago."

"Maybe. You, on the other hand, have changed a lot."

"Have I?"

"We never notice the change in ourselves. Others often do."

"I suppose."

"Hey, I like what I see. You've done a lot of growing."

"Growing?" Goku cocked an eyebrow. Piccolo waved dismissively. 

"It hardly matters. You're much more formidable than you have been in the past," Piccolo tilted his head slightly, as if listening to something. "Interesting."

"What?" 18 asked.

"There's a certain quality about Goku that I can't quite define. It has something to do with the transformation that all of us underwent when we discovered the truth. But whatever it is, it rubbed off on you."

"Should I take that as compliment?"

"Sure. Becoming like Goku is a good thing."

"Have I?"

"Not overtly. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what you'd really be like."

"Aren't you watching us?" Goku interjected. Piccolo shrugged.

"Yes, but my senses are limited. You're a hard one to stay focused on, for some reason. I can tell most things about life down below, but details and people's personalities... that escapes me. Of course, I knew you'd be alright, Goku did marry you after all."

"I feel kind of the same. I have files on you, and Goku has told me more, but I wasn't really sure what you'd be like."

"Yeah, our situations are similar. Didn't turn out bad at all, did it?"

"No." Goku smiled at both of them. "Not bad at all."

They flew on in silence. Piccolo corrected his course slightly; it wouldn't be long now before they reached their destination. As usual, it was unoccupied. Using his peripheral vision, Piccolo glanced at the two fighters flanking him. In a way, both of them seemed familiar to him, but there was something alien about both. Some manner of kinship extended between them, but he really didn't know them all that well.

It was odd, in a way. They didn't really act like a married couple in any way he generally thought of as normal. In fact, had he not known about it earlier, he would never have known. He glanced at their kis briefly. That was one interesting thing. Whenever they glanced at one another, their kis brightened slightly. The thought stood out in his mind suddenly. Their kis? 18 should have had no ki, but he had sensed her even without trying to attune his vision to android energy. 

What could have caused that? Piccolo began mentally hypothesizing, but gave it up midway through. Ki was an elusive concept when you tried to pin it down as to why it specifically was in people. Most likely, Goku's ki had been somehow infused into 18's, and her's had begun operating on its own. Interesting.

Suddenly their destination came on the horizon and sped toward them, forcing Piccolo to slow quickly to avoid overshooting it. In his thoughts, he had paid little attention to their location. Dropping to the ground, he waited for them to do the same, then turned to the massive library.

Few places in the Afterlife were as solid as this one was. Few spirits could influence it in any way, and that was why so few were ever nearby. Even most of the rulers generally avoided it, but some of the deepest secrets of the Afterlife were kept here.

Goku glanced up at the large gates, feeling the energies around them.

"Can we get through?"

"Perhaps." Piccolo walked closer to the gate and began examining it.

"If necessary, we can blast through," 18 told them. "Though I'm sure that would set off an alarm."

"Ah."

Both turned to look at Piccolo, who moved a single leaf pattern on the gate. It swivelled easily, then the gates swung outward noiselessly. Smirking, Piccolo motioned them inside.

"Impressive." Goku nodded to him.

"I haven't been wasting my time here," Piccolo responded. "Add magical lock picking to my list of abilities."

"Now what are we going to do here?" 18 asked as they entered the main door. Piccolo smiled.

"We're going to hit the books."

  
  


Dai Kioshin laughed, for a brief second his worries seemed to vanish. Problems with that Namek, or the saiyan on earth, or any of the rest of it seemed insignificant compared to what had just taken place. True, they had more lasting consequences, but for now they barely troubled him. Darkness had attacked, and they had driven it off successfully! The battles had been hard, with manifestations popping up in any location with people, but they had been won.

Someone had taken out the one at the center of the problem as well. It hardly mattered who. Whoever had done it, it served his purpose quite well. Still, perhaps this would raise interest in the Afterlife about Darkness. He couldn't have that happening. Not if his plan was to succeed. Had this train of events been allowed to continue, it could have ruined his plans. Things would turn out alright if Evil came, that would play into his hand. But Darkness was an entirely different variable.

It was really the unknown in the entire equation. Because it was naturally outside of reality, Dai found that as it influenced the world its power messed up everything. His view of the future, so clear before, was now hazy and non specific. With any luck, he could get rid of Darkness and go back to the plan. All in all, it would hurt him, and if others began to research Darkness, that would be disastrous.

However, he had been prepared for this. All the information of any real relevance had been transported to his private library. It should be safe there, but it never hurt to take precautions.

"Apprentice!" Dai Kioshin snapped his fingers. A brief second later, his apprentice appeared.

"Sir?"

"I have a job for you," Dai Kioshin began. As he spoke, a smile crept onto his face.


	33. Episode XXXI: Afterlife

Dreamwraith... your questions will be answered in chapters hence However, I'd like to make a specific distinction, in case it isn't made clear enough (or for anyone else): Darkness did not cause the Z Warriors to do as they did, their actions are their own. However, they are related in another way.... Meanwhile, yes, Piccolo has a rather dry sense of humor. I like casting him that way, for some reason. Trust me, I hadn't planned alleged "book hitting" in conjunction with finals, nor did it have anything to do with the way the plot went. A bit eerie, though; I really don't want to think about finals week (though by the time this has been read, I will be mostly done).

  
  


As I rarely do, I'm going to go on a serious tangent here. As always, you may feel free to skip it and get to the actual story, this is not required for your enjoyment of the story. Past the hyphen begins this chapter. But this is for a certain individual...

  
  


Primarily it should be noted that any given chapter of this story is but a single portion of a moderately large story. To expect an entire plot arc within one single chapter would be naive. Each division in this series is a set of combined slices of a world. One alone is just a sliver, and may have some intrinsic value, but together they all form a coherent picture.

  
  


This is a fanfiction of DBZ, not the anime itself. There are not several different and completely unrelated plot arcs, all occupying their share of time. All of this story is truly one plot arc, and everything must be considered in the light of this massive battle. To assume that the fights are mere battles of flesh and blood would be to possess a hollow understanding of the story. More is going on here than mere brawling. Though you may not know it yet, this is a war, and a very ancient one. Taken in its entirety, the series is building up to a final conflict, and also building up to a final event that has really been the core thread of the story all along.

  
  


Every time the plot takes a twist or jumps to a new subject, it has done so for one of two reasons: character development or to advance the overall plot. There is very little filler in this story, excepting a few events thrown in for interest sake. Perhaps while looking at a fraction of the picture things may seem disjointed, but from a vantage point above all is working together in a smooth continuation.

  
  


Such thinking that denies this is the bane of this generation, and I suspect many before us. There are so many who look only in their own narrow field of vision, to the exclusion of all else. Never do they consider that perhaps there is an author, and they are not reading a mélange of characters. Were I emotionally unstable, emotional or truly empathetic, I would weep.

  
  


But I have digressed far too long.

  
  


-

  
  


Underneath reality, tendrils of a Darkness darker than the unreality around them curled up from nothing into nothing. All normal senses seemed useless here, obscured by the darkness that was not darkness. Still, anyone could sense that something was happening. A surge of something swept through the expanse. Had it been a person, it might have seemed like a smile.

A dark flame departed from the shifting mass, and quickly vanished into reality.

  
  


Torbie riposted a few times, his fists whistling through the air. Whirling, he let off another series of attacks into the empty air. His wings expanded out briefly as he leapt into the air, then folded and he plummeted to the ground. The shock waves from the crash uprooted the nearby trees. Flipping to his feet, Torbie examined a red fist briefly. Good, but not enough.

True, he was the strongest ever of his kind. There was no warrior from his quarter of the galaxy who was his equal. But he would have to do much better than that if he hoped to place in the Afterlife Tournament. All of the best warriors would be there, including Pakihaun and Olibu. Those two were always meeting up with him and knocking him out of the competition. Not this time. Not if he worked hard enough.

Glancing up, Torbie had a split second to gape before a column of black flame engulfed him.

  
  


Alerted by the sudden stream of darkness from the sky and the horrible scream, Caterpie turned and rushed toward the location. Cracking all ten of his fists, he smirked slightly. If this was any more of those manifestations, they had picked the wrong place to appear.

Glancing through some trees, Caterpie arrived in time to see the column of dark flame vanish, leaving Torbie lying in the middle of the clearing. He nearly stepped out to help him, but something stopped him. Torbie would deal with himself; if he did this it was his own fault. 

Just then Torbie got up, his frame straightened once again. There was no sign the flames had ever been there, Torbie looked to be in perfect shape. Then he turned, and Caterpie caught sight of his eyes.

Twin pools of darkness, as if there was nothing in them or behind them, stared at him. Caterpie stopped himself from gasping aloud, and began to back away from the clearing. Somehow, Torbie sensed him and his black eyes narrowed towards his exact position.

Realizing this, Caterpie ran as fast as he could. It hardly mattered. A second later a burst of energy sliced into his back. The green warrior dropped nearly instantly. Torbie glanced down at his corpse with expressionless eyes, then leapt into the air. In a few moments he was long gone, leaving the first of the fallen Celestial Fighters.

  
  


Chapuchai barely evaded the blast that devastated the ground he had been standing on moments earlier. Turning in midair, he glanced at his attacker. Conflicting thoughts instantly sprang up in his mind. First, it seemed to be another Celestial Fighter, Torbie. But even a slight inspection revealed that there was something behind this menace, something extremely evil. Torbie's black eyes crackled, and he charged.

Ducking the blow, Chapuchai drove a punch toward Torbie's stomach. One hand turned his fist aside, and the other hit his head, knocking him down. Falling to the ground on his back, Chapuchai focused on his attacker, who now dove for him. At the last second, he fired a blast that engulfed Torbie.

Gaining his feet, Chapuchai jumped backward, only just in front Torbie's foot. Apparently he had gotten a lot stronger, something was different about him. Whatever it was, Chapuchai didn't like it, and he resolved to beat it out of him. His fists moved faster and faster, slamming into Torbie until the fighter made no move to resist. Chapuchai ended with a massive uppercut that sent the much larger fighter into the sky.

Instead of coming back down, Torbie stayed suspended in the sky. He fired four swift blasts downward, all of which Chapuchai easily dodged.

"Is that the best you've got?" Chapuchai mocked, glancing up. He saw Torbie's hands spread out, pointing towards him.

"Spread Fire!" Torbie roared, his voice deeper and darker. A torrent of energy blasts flooded downward, in a far large scope than Chapuchai could ever hope to avoid. One clipped him on the shoulder, slowing him long enough for a few more to hit him. Slamming into the ground, Chapuchai found himself unable to move as more and more shot their way into him.

Eventually the attack stopped. Torbie tried to kick him, but Chapuchai managed to roll out of the way, then trip up his opponent. Gaining his feet, Chapuchai was halted when Torbie reached up, grabbed his beard, and dealt him a haymaker to the jaw that sent him reeling.

"Multi-form!" Chapuchai yelled as he jumped back. Instantly he began to fracture into a number of different copies, all of which danced before Torbie menacingly.

The next thing he knew, Chapuchai was hurtling backward, his stomach hurting from an incredible pain. His multi-form had done nothing to Torbie, who had somehow sensed which one was real. But where was Torbie now? Chapuchai's question was answered as a foot flew through the air and smashed into his face, sending him to the ground.

Before he could attack again, Chapuchai found himself immobile as Torbie gripped him in two vice-like hands. For a while he struggled to move, but eventually went still. Sparks flew between their eyes, as Darkness was slowly transferred from one to the other. Slowly, Chapuchai's eyes began to fill with a cold blackness.

  
  


Something was definitely going on. Arqua picked up a bit more speed and headed for the source of the disturbance. He could feel the kis of some of the Celestial Fighters, but not what they were fighting. In any case, one was waning fast, and another had been extinguished. Whatever it was, it was powerful.

Now, however, he had a way to make sure his victory was insured. With his new technique, he could take the fight to his own terrain, and then he would have the advantage. Beneath him, he sensed Tapkar running. Great, just what he needed. Another of the Celestial Fighters to try and stop the problem as well. Brushing aside the bluish fin atop his head, Arqua dropped to just behind him. Let Tapkar try first; he could learn from the experience.

They had nearly reached the clearing when Arqua dropped down to the ground to avoid notice. From between the trees he saw an odd sight. Torbie, his ki incredibly twisted, was kneeling in front of Chapuchai, doing something to him. There was a dark ki flashing all around, and he could feel Chapuchai's slowly dissipating. Had Torbie suddenly decided to become evil?

In any case, Tapkar was walking out into the clearing; he would find out. Torbie seemed momentarily distracted, and for a brief moment he looked worried. Arqua tucked that piece of information away.

"What are you doing?" Tapkar called. Torbie said nothing and returned to his work. Gritting his teeth, Tapkar spun into a whirlwind and sped forward in attack. Just as he had crossed half the distance, a massive surge of darkness welled up from the ground, strands of it wrapping around Tapkar. He fell to the ground, then slowly rose to his feet. His eyes were identical to Torbie's.

Sensing that things were quickly turning against him, Arqua sped forward to attack Torbie. Tapkar collided with him in midair, but Arqua merely shook him off. Diving down at Torbie, Arqua realized that he might be too late. Torbie rose to his feet, and with one arm easily bashed Arqua, sending him into the nearby grove of trees.

"Now," Torbie said in the ghastly imitation of his old voice, "it has begun. You," he pointed to Chapuchai, who looked at him silently. "Find the ones in our way and finish them. Return when they have been destroyed. You, stay with me. We will have more opposition soon."

Chapuchai nodded and blasted off, soon vanishing over the horizon. Just then Arqua burst from the trees, energy flying wildly out from him. Reaching Torbie, he found himself hitting nothing but air. In the next instant, he felt a blow to the back of the head and he tumbled over the ground.

Slowly gaining his footing once again, Arqua glanced up at Torbie, who began walking toward him. Tapkar hadn't even joined the fight. Realizing this would get ugly fast, Arqua decided to pull out his secret weapon. Grinning an evil grin, he raised his hands. There was an explosion of water as the entire area became incased in a giant cube of water that surrounded them.

Tapkar floated above the water, but Torbie struggled on, continuing to move forward. Flexing his fins, Arqua swam forward in attack.

  
  


Goku pushed aside a book and reached for another. Glancing through it briefly, he nodded to himself, then sat down and began reading as fast as possible. Across the table from him, Piccolo was sketching something out on a sheet of paper, frowning at his work. 18 was part-way across the room, looking for another book.

There was a lot of information here. Goku was impressed that someone had taken the trouble to compile all this knowledge. He thought he recognized a lot of what had been written from his previous studies. Maybe later he'd have to ask Piccolo if this was everything that had ever been written. Then again, maybe it wasn't. In any case, that was irrelevant, because it had a lot of information on the topic they wanted.

It was clear that Darkness had something to do with this. Before that time, Goku had never heard anything about it. Piccolo told him that it was hardly ever mentioned, mainly because it was a force that existed entirely outside of reality. Due to this, it was impossible to predict, and could change futures that had previously been certain. But all of them were sure that the key to the whole problem lay in what Darkness was, and why it was around again. Goku had his own theory that Eclipse and Ebony were two of a kind, and had something to do with Darkness. The biggest problem, however, was finding any sort of motive. Their actions didn't seem to be aiming for anything in particular.

Just then Goku's eyes narrowed as he realized what he was reading. For the first time ever, an actual bit of literature on the topic of Darkness. It approached the topic hesitantly, as if unwilling to discuss it, but it offered the first actual information they had seen.

Basically, the useful part of the article boiled down to one thing. Eclipse and Ebony were indeed of a kind, and it was definitely linked to dimensional matters. Most likely they derived their power from messing with the different dimensions. That explained most of their actions.

Still, something didn't quite add up. The numbers he was seeing here weren't matching what dimensional rips could logically cause. Then again, maybe he was wrong about that. Piccolo would probably know better than he. Before he could approach him about it, the ceiling exploded and a small fighter landed in the library.

"Chapuchai," Piccolo stated the fighter's name tonelessly. Chapuchai turned to face them, and both Piccolo and Goku reeled back slightly at his eyes. Instantly, Goku recognized the darkness within them: Eclipse. So either Eclipse had taken him over, or there was something in common between the two of them. Darkness?

"18," Goku called. "I'm in the middle of something important here. Could you take care of this?"

Setting down a book, 18 nodded. "Sure."

Tired of waiting, Chapuchai attacked them. Before he had crossed half the distance to the table, 18 slammed her fist into his head. Falling backward, Chapuchai was struck by another shot that sent him flying back out through the hole in the ceiling he had created. Now that the fight was outside, 18 was free to let go with a punch of full power.

Getting bashed through a rock pillar, Chapuchai regained his feet and launched a massive blast toward 18, who calmly deflected it, then flew down to strike him. She barely missed, but sensed Chapuchai behind her and rammed her elbow into his gut. Her opponent fell backward once more.

Below, Goku slid his book across to Piccolo. The Namek took it and began skimming thoughtfully.

"You know," he began, not stopping reading, "you're pretty lucky to have 18, Goku."

"How so?" Goku checked his work again. He was right, something didn't add up. Dimensional rips couldn't possibly fuel everything Ebony and his kind did. What then?

"I should think it's obvious. She's a wonderful person, with all the bonuses: intelligent, powerful, beautiful."

"Says the genderless green humanoid."

"Hey." Piccolo gestured with his pencil nonchalantly. "Think of it like a restaurant. Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I can't look at the menu."

Smiling, Goku continued working in silence. From above there was a massive bang, and then 18 floated back down through the hole again.

"Is everything taken care of?" Goku asked. 18 nodded.

"It was a cinch."

"Wait a second," Piccolo abruptly said, looking down at his paper.

"What?"

"I think I get it."

"What do you mean?" Goku asked, walking over to his side and glancing at his figures. 18 joined them.

"I know what powers them," Piccolo announced. "Or at least part of it."

"Does this mean anything to you?" 18 asked, handing Piccolo her own book. The Namek's eyes widened slightly. He paused for a second, processing the new information and building it into his previous theory.

"This is exactly what I needed. Alright, I think I have the case cracked wide open."

"Well, cough it up."

"Alright, here's the situation: the being we know of as Darkness is actually just a force in the universe. It is essentially created by hatred. All the hatred in the galaxy has slowly created this particular being. Except it really isn't a being, it's a lot more than that."

"I think I get it," Goku said thoughtfully. "So were Ebony and Eclipse just manifestations of Darkness?"

"You could think about it that way. When it gets strong enough, it begins to influence reality. With that, it causes as much pain and destruction as possible, to continue to fuel itself. Those we have fought are really just products."

"What do dimensions have to do with it?" 18 asked. Piccolo nodded.

"Right. That's really the key. You probably don't know much about that whole issue, so I'll fill you in. Every different possibility can create a new dimension. In between all these dimensions is nothing, and I mean a lack of even a vacuum. That's Darkness. But certain dimensions, like our own, are core dimensions, they're much more stable than all the others. Because of this, Darkness can't effect it as easily. Which is why it messed with the dimensions that branch off of our own."

"So those side dimensions basically become a feeding ground for their power."

"Essentially. However, at times they simply destroy an entire dimension to gain more negative energy, as well as an expansion of what Darkness really is."

"Did we play into their hands by destroying the universe Ebony was in then?"

"No, they wanted it around for some reason. But it did give them a bit of energy. In any case, this sheds light on exactly what they are doing here. Apparently their power has increased enough to start messing with this reality. The manifestations were merely to gain more energy. Chapuchai there was probably one of the first to fall subject to being possessed by the Darkness."

"You mean it can just possess people?"

"I'm not really certain. If I had to make a guess, I'd say that it takes a lot of energy, but they can do it. Of course, the more damage that is done because of their actions, the more power they gain."

"That's a nasty cycle."

"Yeah. But that doesn't matter, because what we do next is try to find a way to stop them."

"Right!"


	34. Episode XXXII: Afterlife

You'll get more of the Celestial Fighters, too. I think I include all of them, but I'm not too sure. There will be a lot more minor characters featured in this section, including some that don't even exist in the DBZ universe. Meanwhile, we manage to get closer to answers without actually explaining anything. 

  
  


-

  
  


Torbie struck, but his blow was slowed by the water enough that Arqua dodged it. Instantly swimming around, Arqua struck him again. Reversing the blow, Torbie sent him through the water, but a few strokes sent Arqua back to him again.

Gritting his teeth, Torbie whirled violently in a circle. The water that was pushed away because of it sent Arqua reeling, long enough to actually get hit. Aruqa grimaced in pain, then gritted his teeth. It was time to get serious about this. Rushing forward, he slammed into him opponent multiple times, using his natural grace in the water to avoid all his blows and get in many of his own.

Punching with all his might, Arqua sent Torbie falling backward in slow motion through the water. Suddenly, he just fell, directly to the ground. 

"Big mistake," Torbie grunted, now knocked outside of the water cube, "you'll pay for that."

Righting himself and preparing to swim, Arqua watched Torbie gather energy. He wasn't prepared for the blast that suddenly encompassed his vision. Electrical energy charged through the water around him, frying him to nearly the point of well done. Nodding coldly, Torbie levitated to avoid the rapidly dispersing water and scanned around.

He was instantly alerted to the presence of three more warriors by the sound of their voices. Reaching into his host's memory, Darkness identified them as Froug, Olibu and Maraikoh. Two of the more powerful Celestial Fighters, and one of the weaker. This was definitely more of a threat than before.

"I would never work with the likes of you!" Olibu said haughtily. Below him, Froug fumed.

"Do not mock me!"

"Idiots," Maraikoh interrupted, gazing toward Torbie. "The fight is over. We need to do something."

"I am fighting!" Froug declared. Olibu folded his arms.

"Then you can't expect any help from me."

"Or me," Maraikoh told him. "I'll watch you fail first."

"Fine."

Froug turned and leapt toward Torbie. Instantly the red warrior skated backward, and gestured for Tapkar to attack. The smaller warrior sped into Froug's way, launching a series of spinning attacks toward his head. Ducking, Froug avoided the onslaught, then slammed a backhand into Tapkar's neck. As Tapkar flew through the air with the impact, Froug fired a blast after him that rendered part of the landscape barren and Tapkar finished.

Torbie slammed a knee into the distracted Froug's chest, sending him falling backward. Catching himself on the ground, Froug bounced away and landed on his feet. Rushing him again, Torbie fell victim to a reversal and found his face slammed into the dirt a second later. Froug attempted to smash him from overhead, but Torbie avoided the attack and moved to a much higher location.

Avoiding the blasts that Froug fired, Torbie launched a single blast of his own. Froug launched more blasts for as long as possible, then sidestepped the attack that was coming his way. To his surprise, he saw the blast arc toward him, but couldn't react before it blasted into his body.

Dodging the last blast, Torbie smirked at his successful technique. A second later, Froug flew from the dust of the explosion, kicking him. Stopping himself in the air, Torbie attacked back, and the two began fighting at closer quarters. Neither could break the other's defenses, until in one second Froug made a punch a fraction of an inch too wide.

Instantly realizing his opportunity, Torbie took a swipe in his window of opportunity. Froug had fully intended Torbie to attempt to take advantage of his apparent mistake, and launched a punch as well. However, he had not realized the full extent of Torbie's speed, he failed to push his fist off course.

Both palms slammed into the other warrior's jaw. They were sent flying backward, and slammed into the ground on opposite sides of the now decimated clearing. Torbie and Froug made it to their feet, but only watched the other carefully. Olibu and Maraikoh stood aside, not participating in the conflict. For a while, none of them moved. Then, Froug began to swell. His body grew larger and larger, seeming to inflate up to impossible sizes. 

Watching, Torbie attempted to deduce what he was attempting to accomplish. Was this a transformation, or some manner of bizarre attack? A second later he found out, and quite painfully. Letting out all his inhaled air in one forceful burst, Froug successfully blasted Torbie back. Bracing himself, Torbie attempted to weather the blast. When the wind stopped and Froug had returned to his normal size, Torbie had moved back only a few yards. Then, soundlessly, Torbie fell to the ground.

Arcing down to finish off the wounded warrior, Froug had a single second to look on in horror before a dark flame engulfed him as well. There was a black explosion, and when it faded, Froug had transformed as well. Blinking his completely dark eyes, he pulled Torbie to his feet, and turned to the two remaining warriors.

Gathering energy over his head, Olibu rose up into the air. When a significant blast had gathered, he hurled it downward toward the two possessed Celestial Fighters. Froug flew out of the way easily, but Torbie was not nearly so lucky. He attempted to take off and jump over the blast. Failing, he was struck head on and ripped apart by the awesome power of the attack.

Olibu floated over the dust below, the perfect picture of a noble warrior. That image was shattered a second later as a decimating kick from Froug sent him tumbling to the ground. Snapping to his feet, Olibu attacked, but found that Froug flowed away from him, unharmed.

As their battle continued, Olibu found himself surprised. Froug had improved since the last tournament, of course, but this was something else. Just from when they had arrived here, his power and speed had undergone a tremendous boost. He put it together a while later, while taking a painful blow to the neck. When this thing, whatever it was, had possessed Froug, it had increased his power significantly.

It shouldn't have been a challenge. Olibu slammed both his fists into Froug, only to have the warrior come back at him a second later. How was Froug this powerful? At any other time before now, Olibu could have ground him to dust effortlessly, but now he found himself hard pressed to keep up with the amphibious warrior.

Launching another massive energy attack, Olibu managed to slow Froug down a bit. He quickly turned to Maraikoh, who had yet to join the fight.

"I need your help!" Olibu called, "this guy's too powerful!"

"I wouldn't help the likes of you," Maraikoh told him.

"We need to fight him together!"

"Never in a thousand years."

Before Olibu could argue further, Froug effectively ended the argument for him. While getting to his feet and listening to their conversation, Froug smiled an incredibly evil smile. It might have been his imagination, but Olibu thought he saw the darkness in his eyes burn brighter. Maraikoh saw the same, and he shivered. Taking a deep breath, he cracked two massive fists and shook his entire dinosaur body.

"Fine! Let's do this!"

Maraikoh rushed forward in the attack, but the delay had already cost them. In the time Froug hadn't attacked, he had been charging up, and now he unleashed all his energy in a wave that blasted both of them backward. Gaining his feet first, Maraikoh rushed forward, attempting to crush Froug with one giant foot. His claws dove into the ground harmlessly, a second before Froug slammed a fist into him.

As Maraikoh went flying, however, Olibu recovered and smashed Froug. While he tumbled, Maraikoh punted him into the sky, where Olibu smashed him down again. Froug tumbled toward the ground, and both Maraikoh and Olibu charged up giant blasts and threw them toward the warrior. There was a brilliant explosion, and it appeared that nothing remained.

Olibu dropped down to the ground by Maraikoh.

"I was wrong," Olibu said coldly. "I didn't need your help."

"I would have been better off without you," Maraikoh retorted. 

"You just don't get it, do you?" Both turned immediately to see who had spoken. Froug, on his knees and smoking, glanced up at them and smiled a cruel smile.

"Idiots," he said softly. Then, he rushed forward in attack once again.

  
  


"Wait a second." Piccolo stopped short, glancing at something.

"What?" Goku asked, raising his head from one book.

"Come look at this."

Goku and 18 walked over to the shelf where Piccolo was standing, and immediately saw why he wanted them to come. There was an entire shelf that was nearly gone. Only a few books remained on it, while there should have been hundreds. Piccolo glanced at the books that remained. As he suspected, useless.

"What's this about?" 18 asked. Piccolo glanced at them sideways.

"I think someone doesn't want anyone learning about Darkness. From what my other sources say, there should have been a lot of books on the topic here, but now they're gone. Coincidence? Ha."

"Who would have done that?" Goku questioned. Piccolo shrugged.

"We can't be sure. However, only Dai Kioshin and King Yemma have easy access to this library. I'd put a good bet on Dai Kioshin this time."

"Well, what are we going to do?"

"He probably wouldn't want to destroy information that he could use himself, so he most likely took it. Which means that he put it at the safest location possible. Of all the places he has control over, I think his own library is probably the safest."

"So we go there?"

"Yeah. I think I can sense someone there, however."

"I'm afraid I can't. I need to have a ki to use Instant Transmission."

"No problem." Piccolo laid a hand on Goku's shoulder. "How about now?"

In a second, Goku's senses refined, and he found himself attuned to a small ki.

"Is this one it?"

"Right. Let's go."

Touching both of them, Goku focused on the far away ki, and then all three teleported from the library.

  
  


When they rematerialized, they were floating over a library very similar to the one they had been at seconds earlier. If not for the lack of a hole in the roof, Goku would have been uncertain if they had actually moved. All of them hung suspended in the air a minute, glancing around.

"Guards," Piccolo whispered, gesturing down below. Goku glanced down and realized that three figures were in front of the gates below.

"Can we get in without bothering them?" Goku whispered back to Piccolo. The Namek looked thoughtful.

"Is there any disadvantage to bothering them?" 18 interjected. Piccolo smiled.

"No, if we try to get in another way we raise the alarm. Whereas if we can take down the guards I could pick this lock if I had a bit of time. So we'll actually attract less notice by starting a fight."

"Let's go then."

Goku dropped to ground level, then casually walked toward the door. 18 and Piccolo flanked him. The three guards were on high alert, and three pairs of eyes instantly turned to them.

  
  


Apprentice wasn't sure, but he thought that two of the figures were the Goku and 18 that Dai Kioshin was always ranting about. He knew for certain that the other one was Piccolo. For whatever the reason, they could not be allowed to enter this place. Dai Kioshin had ordered him to kill anyone who came near the library, but Apprentice wasn't sure that he wanted to start a fight with this group.

He looked to either side of him uneasily. Outside of the Celestial Fighters, these two were the strongest in the Afterlife. At least, they had been until this group came. Now he wasn't so sure. Danai appeared to be weak, but Apprentice thought he sensed a greater hidden power within him. So maybe he had some potential. Xenar was mainly just cheap; Apprentice had figured out his gimmick a while ago. But if one of them figured out what was going on too soon, it wouldn't matter.

Now they were close enough he had to say something.

"Halt!"

Slowing to a halt, Goku glanced down at Apprentice. 

"I'm afraid I need to get into this library."

"I have orders to stop anyone who attempts to get into this library. I am authorized to use force if necessary."

"That's enough." Piccolo rolled his eyes. "Get out of our way."

"Sir, I cannot-"

"Just cream them," Danai grated. "We can take these guys!"

"Yeah," Xenar agreed. "Our orders were to kill them!"

"Actually," Goku said amiably. "We're already dead, so technic-"

Throwing aside all pretense of restraint, Danai attempted to punch Goku, who easily wove to the side, grabbed Danai's fist, and sent him tumbling across the ground. Instantly, chaos broke loose. Xenar took a swipe at Goku, who ducked, and was slammed from behind by Piccolo. Just as Danai came rushing back, 18 delivered a kick that knocked him into the air. Piccolo and Xenar faced off, and above 18 and Danai were locked in close combat. Apprentice turned to look at Goku, who dropped into a fighting stance and waited.

Piccolo easily blocked Xenar's strike, and reversed his move, sending his opponent over the horizon. Xenar came flying back, but missed Piccolo, who slammed a foot into his back. Falling to the ground, Xenar smashed through a few trees, then slowly rose to his feet to face Piccolo.

He was not at all impressed. All of Xenars attack's had been weak, when he had gotten any time to do them. At first, Piccolo had expected that Xenar was holding power back and would power up, but he had yet to do so, and Piccolo realized he was using all the power he had.

Gathering energy between his palms, Piccolo hurled the sphere of energy he created down to smash into Xenar. There was an explosion, but when the dust cleared, Xenar was unharmed. The next instant he charged upward at Piccolo, who easily dodged out of the way. Putting on a burst of speed, Xenar launched a set of attacks that Piccolo turned aside. Maybe he had been too harsh. Xenar had a bit more in him yet.

Covering his hand with a thin layer of fiery ki, Piccolo smashed it down into Xenar's head. He buckled, but then whipped his head up and smashed a hand into Piccolo's midriff. The Namek plummeted to the ground, and Xenar followed in hot pursuit. Catching himself with his hands, Piccolo pushed himself into the air, causing Xenar to plow into the ground. Still, something was beginning to seem wrong to Piccolo. That blow should have easily finished him off.

Launching ki bursts rapid fire, Piccolo caused a rapidly rising dust cloud around Xenar, who was bashed into the ground a few feet. When he stopped attacking, Piccolo saw that Xenar was quite embedded into the rock below. Then to his surprise, Xenar rose to his feet and launched a tremendous wave of ki upward.

Raising his arms, Piccolo deflected the attack, but he was surprised that it took something out of him. Now he was certain, something wasn't right. A germ of an idea began in his mind. It was time for an experiment. Using the full extent of his power, Piccolo smashed into Xenar a couple of times, finishing off his newest second wind. An uppercut finished the combo, and slammed Xenar to the ground.

Firing one bolt of ki, Piccolo watched carefully. It drove Xenar back, but immediately after he charged at him once again. Things finally clicked for Piccolo. He blocked Xenar's strike and smirked.

"I get it," he told his opponent. "You absorb ki energy, don't you?"

"It took you long enough," Xenar mocked. "Do you realize how much stronger I am from your energy?"

"No."

"Triple! Three times my former power level! Do you really think you stand a chance against me?"

"Yeah, I think I do. Take this!"

Extending a hand, Piccolo threw a dark sphere of energy. It glittered malevolently as it sped toward Xenar, who laughed.

"You really don't get it, do you? Fool!"

His words ended in a shriek as he caught the ball of energy. Dark electricity ripped through his body, sending it spasming through the air. Xenar fell to the ground, and this time he barely made it to his feet.

"You should be more careful," Piccolo admonished him. "Anti-ki isn't good for you."

"You dared to use anti-ki on me?"

"What did you expect? Did you think I'd fall for the same trick twice?"

"Bah! I still have enough energy to finish you off!"

Power gathered around Xenar as he slowly moved his hands in a circular motion. Piccolo waited patiently. Admittedly, Xenar's trick had been effective, but now Piccolo knew what he was trying to do. The match had ended when he had figured it out, in all actuality.

Xenar's hands met above his head. He whipped them down and launched the largest ki blast he had yet performed. It slammed into Piccolo, making an explosion of pure energy. When the light faded, however, Piccolo had not moved, he was crackling with a light blue energy.

"How would you like some of your own medicine?" Piccolo asked. Xenar's eyes widened a second before Piccolo shot all the energy he had absorbed. The blast sliced into him, and this time Xenar found himself unable to reabsorb his own energy. A second after being struck by the ki, Xenar exploded in a flash of purple light. Dropping to the ground, Piccolo gazed impassively where he had been, then moved to the door.

  
  


18's fist seemed to slide past Danai's defenses, and a second later the warrior found himself imbedded in the rock face below. She was good, he granted her that. But he had fought a lot of good fighters in his life and after it, and there was no way he was going to be beaten. Now 18 was flying down at him, and he rolled, anticipating her attack. A blast of ki smashed him the next instant, sending him flying into the air, where an elbow sent him across the sky again.

Firing eight blasts, Danai was surprised to see 18 bat each one aside separately. So this was going to take more than just his normal. Well, that was fine. Spitting to the side, he sneered at her.

"Can you top this?" Throwing his arms back, Danai suddenly seemed to shatter into a thousand pieces. Somehow, the gaps between each separate piece were suddenly filled in. Danai once again floated in front of 18, but now he was around twice as large.

His power had risen, 18 acknowledged, but it had very little to do with his size. Such a small power boost hardly mattered, now he was just a bigger target. He was attacking, and she waited until the last second to dodge. Ducking under his next attack, she struck with a barrage of attacks and whittled away at Danai. 

"Is that the best you can do?" Danai laughed, merely wincing from the blows. "Pitiful! Take your best shot!"

Exactly what 18 had been hoping he would do. Using a bit more of her power this time, she drove a knuckle into Danai's stomach. His eyes bugged from the pain, and then 18 applied a bit of ki. He instantly shot over the horizon. Rushing to follow him, 18 passed him up and swung around, smashing a foot into his spine.

Quivering in midair, Danai seemed to be nearly beaten. He suddenly whirled, and one of his claws clipped 18's head. Enough to set her a bit off balance, but not to deal any real damage. She resisted the urge to smirk. 

"Don't think I'm done," Danai told her, somehow still optimistic. 18 had to wonder how he thought he had any chance. If he had ever bothered to sense her ki, he should have known she had more than 10 times his own.

"What I did before was just my first level," he smirked. "I can do x3!"

Again he shattered, and when he reformed, he was three times his original size. His height hadn't been small before, but now he towered over 18, laughing horribly. This transformation was actually worthwhile, 18 decided, had he actually had enough power to make it worth it. About what she would expect a warrior to be able to power up normally. Still, he seemed far too confident. So either he had something up his sleeve or he was just an idiot.

Swinging one giant fist, Danai intended to cream 18 on the spot. 18 blocked the massive punch with a forearm, then twisted, sending Danai into a spin. A well-placed kick sent him wildly careening through the air. Soon after, he came flying back, swinging low. Levitating up a few feet to avoid his attacks, 18 kicked him directly in the jaw, sending him backward once again. Smashing both feet into his stomach, she sent him down to earth with a crash.

Before he could get all the way down, 18 overtook him, briefly touched the ground, then deflected off, smashing into the middle of Danai. Though 18 was much smaller her far great momentum propelled Danai up once again. She fired a blast that was intended to incinerate him, but Danai twisted, and it merely clipped him on the shoulder. He landed on the ground, and 18 dropped down across from him.

"You aren't really helping yourself much," 18 told him. "If you just powered up normally it'd save time and probably some of your energy."

"What?"

"Size isn't that great of an advantage. Not if your opponent is faster or stronger. It's really kind of pointless to pull that sort of trick at the level we're fighting at."

"You mock me?" Danai roared, eyes flaming in anger. 18 shrugged.

"I'll show you!" he rumbled on. "I might have let you live before, but now I'm gonna crush you!"

Danai crossed his arms over his face and began growling. Energy crackled over him, then arced into the sky. The leaves on nearby trees were suddenly blown in a violent breeze. Suddenly everything ceased as Danai seemed to turn black and white, then shattered a final time. Nothing appeared to remain, but then a roar echoed over the sky.

"x10!"

As suddenly as he had vanished, Danai appeared, now a behemoth. 18 found herself barely coming up to one of his ankles. Two blazing eyes glared down at her, a gigantic fist slammed into his other palm, sounding like thunder. Examining him further, 18 nearly laughed. For all his size, he hadn't increased in power at all. In fact, a transformation at this level had actually taken a bit of his total energy. She considered ending it with a punch but decided against it.

"Now you will die!" Danai's voice was immense. A fist swung down toward her, but she could have walked out of the way. It slammed into the ground below, sending cracks all across it. Leaping off the ground toward him, 18 gathered energy for another attack. She'd made this one herself, and this situation seemed to be the perfect opportunity to break it in.

While she flew toward Danai, energy began to mount around her, silvery streams that wreathed in intricate patterns. Eventually it appeared as though a silvery fireball had entirely surrounded 18. As she continued to fly forward in her punch, more energy mounted, rising to an almost burning intensity.

When she reached Danai, who found he could not dodge the attack, the silvery energy shattered through him. The monstrosity gaped, then shrank, dissipating down to nearly his former size before he vanished entirely. Smoothing back the lock of hair that had fallen out of place in her attack, 18 focused on Goku and Piccolo's kis and teleported back to the main scene of the battle.

  
  


-

  
  


And next time we get to see Apprentice and Goku fight. Sure, we all know who's going to win, but it's still an interesting fight, ne?


	35. Episode XXXIII: Afterlife

Pardon the tardiness of this episode. Finding a suitable internet connection was difficult.

  
  


About anti-ki: Anti-ki is not so much a negative version of ordinary ki as it is the absence of. Compared to ordinary matter, it is more like a vacuum than anti-matter. Basically, the warrior completely drains a small area of any sort of ki- now because ki surrounds and is in everything, this is unusual. This area of concentrated lack of ki, then, will suck the ki out of whatever it touches. It's a simple matter of densities... just on a supernatural plane.

  
  


-

  
  


Teleporting a sword into his hand, Apprentice sliced forward. Taken off guard, Goku could only avoid the attack. When Apprentice struck again, Goku was more ready and turned the blade aside, forcing Apprentice to try a massive overhead strike. Side-stepping, Goku allowed it to strike the ground, then stepped on the blade with one foot and kicked Apprentice away with another.

Flipping to land on his feet, Apprentice charged forward. Goku slid away from the attack easily, but Apprentice merely scooped up the sword and turned to attack him once again. This time, Goku caught the blade between two of his fingers and ripped it from Apprentice's hands. Bring his hand down on the blade, Goku shattered it. Dodging a few of Apprentice's strikes, Goku moved back a bit then moved behind him and slammed a knee into his head.

Tumbling, Apprentice jumped to his feet and simultaneously fired a blast behind him. Goku batted it aside then leaped forward, slamming into Apprentice's back. The young Kioshin clenched both hands, sending an aura up around him, then charged back toward Goku, who easily evaded him again.

Apprentice knew it wouldn't be easy, but he had a trick up his sleeve. His own manner of teleportation was far more effective than this saiyan's. He could appear anywhere, however he wanted to. Teleporting in midstrike, Apprentice attempted to smash his fist into the saiyan's back, except he wasn't there. For an instant he was confused, then sensed that Goku had also teleported. Before he could sense for him, an attack from behind blasted him into a crater in the ground. 

Gaining his feet again, Apprentice considered his next move. Xenar had somehow failed, and Piccolo was now at the gate. If this was to be won, he had to finish this before the fight became uneven. Apprentice leapt forward, but Goku backhanded him easily, sending him flying. As he flew through the air, Apprentice teleported once more. When he materialized he should have been behind Goku, but instead he found the saiyan looking directly at him. It wasn't a reassuring sight.

A fist slammed him back, and Apprentice found it difficult to regain control of his flight. Still, the impact doubled him over entirely. Struggling to overcome the pain, Apprentice slowly straightened, only to find himself facing Goku, who stood before him.

"What?" Goku raised an eyebrow. "Are you wearing out already? I'm disappointed."

Firing a ki blast point-blank, Apprentice scrambled backward, to get away from the saiyan. Calmly blowing aside the dust that surrounded him, Goku casually glanced toward Apprentice, who watched him carefully. To their right a massive silver explosion sounded, and both were acutely aware of the sudden lack of Danai's ki.

Without saying a word, Goku held up his index and middle fingers. From across the blasted battlefield, Apprentice looked at him strangely, watching for a ki attack of some sort. None came. Then, Goku moved his fingers down, only a slight motion. Instantly a crushing force slammed down on Apprentice. Lifting his fingers, Goku slammed him upward again. As Goku's fingers moved back and forth, Apprentice found himself unable to escape the barrage of blows that seemed to come from nowhere. How was Goku doing it? A slap from the left sent him reeling painfully.

Seeing 18 return, Goku decided to end it. For an instant he held his fingers motionless and the blows stopped, then he stabbed both fingers forward. The impact slammed into Apprentice who fell to the ground, then vanished nearly instantly. Dropping to the ground, Goku nodded to 18, who looked relatively unharmed.

"We're in business," Piccolo told them, turning from the lock, "I have attained access."

"So what are we trying to do here?"

"More of the same. Except here, I have a suspicion we'll find our missing books. And I'd bet a good bit that someone like Dai Kioshin doesn't want anyone having that information. Which means it's exactly what we need."

  
  


Froug flew in at a slant, smashing into the ground where Maraikoh had been only moments earlier. Olibu attacked from behind, but Froug pivoted and slammed his palm into the warrior's stomach. As Olibu flew backward, Froug turned to Maraikoh, who was on the attack again. Dodging his fists, Froug waited until an opportune moment and then smashed a foot into Maraikoh, who gasped in pain. In the same instant, Olibu came flying back, slamming into Froug, who went tumbling across the ground.

Blasting the ground, Maraikoh very nearly hit Froug, who jumped at the last possible instant. Closing the gap between himself and Olibu, Froug attacked. Olibu was driven back by the force of the attack, able only to block, but then Maraikoh joined as well. Amazingly, Froug was keeping up with their onslaught of attacks. Smirking, Olibu redoubled his attack. They had him now. All he could do was block, and eventually he would lose.

Maybe Olibu was a bit too cocky, or maybe Froug was stronger than they thought. Either way, both warriors fighting Froug made a mistake at the same time. Froug capitalized on both of them. Maraikoh was floating slightly below him, and now received a knee to the face. At the same time, Froug slammed the heel of his palm into Olibu's forehead. Both were sent flying back through the air. They crashed into the ground.

Channeling his anger, Olibu launched another blast toward Froug, who batted it aside, but not without effort. In any case, he remained still long enough for Maraikoh to hit him with a glancing energy wave. Temporarily stunned, Froug was smashed from overhead by Olibu, then slammed by Maraikoh. Smashing into the ground, Froug made it to his feet and knocked Olibu back with his legs, but Maraikoh managed to get him in a full-nelson.

Struggling, Froug attempted to escape from Maraikoh's iron grip. Smirking, Olibu moved backward and charged up a massive blast. Careful to keep the blast focused so Maraikoh would be unharmed, Olibu fired his attack. As it crossed the space between them, Froug easily escaped from Maraikoh's hold and leapt into the air. The gigantic blasted slammed into Maraikoh, catapulting him into the air.

Coming down from his jump, Froug darted forward and slammed Olibu with a flying kick. The damage became too much for the warrior, and he keeled over on his knees. Froug smashed him again, then rose into the air over him. Olibu could only glance up as Froug fired a slicing beam downward that finished him off.

His limbs shaking slightly, Maraikoh rose from the pile of rubble he had been buried in. One arm clutched a nasty looking wound that Olibu's blast had caused. Turning, he faced Froug, a look of pure rage on his face.

"You'll pay for this," Maraikoh said, voice charged with emotion. "You'll pay now!"

The largest blast yet seen in the battle raged forward, slamming into Froug, who raised both arms. Soon, the energy became too violent for anything to be seen. When it faded, Froug had been forced back a few yards. He dropped his arms from in front of him, and smiled once.

Opening his mouth, Froug launched a beam that slammed Maraikoh, finishing the warrior off as well. Froug's eyes glimmered darkly as he surveyed the damage caused. For now, the battle was won. Remaining still, the Darkness within him began feeding off of the dark ki surrounding.

A soft tap announced the arrival of someone else landing on the ground. From between the shade of the trees, a figure could vaguely be seen. Narrowing his eyes, Froug watched carefully. Then the figure moved forward, and Pakihaun stepped forth.

  
  


Flipping back over a couple of pages to make sure he was correct, Piccolo allowed himself to smile slightly. This was the last thing he needed. As he had suspected, Dai Kioshin had relocated all the important books to his own library. Now that they were in, however, it hadn't taken Goku much time to find the ones they needed. From then on, it had just been about piecing together the clues they had. But now the puzzle had come together.

"I have it," he said. Goku and 18 both glanced up from their own books.

"All of it?" Goku asked.

"As much as we can get."

"Go ahead."

"We had already figured out that dimensional matters fuel Darkness. You recognized that something didn't add up. Well, I just confirmed the missing part of the equation. Hate also fuels them, a lot more than dimensions. Which is why they wanted the android dimension around; it was more beneficial to them that way."

"We all use the term 'them'. Eclipse did too," Goku pointed out.

"That's true," 18 agreed. "Are we dealing with a group here?"

"I have that figured out too," Piccolo told them. "And no, it isn't a group. Actually, Darkness is more of a force than a person. It simply is what it is. We aren't certain what created it, or if it even was created. I'd be willing to bet that people in general created it, with their hatred. With so much dark ki in our world, it needed a reflection. That would have been Darkness. But that's irrelevant now.'

"What I've also figured out is a bit of important history. All of the eldest Kioshins have always known about Darkness. The first incarnation of Darkness we know of was a being called Buu. It was incredibly destructive. All of the strongest Kioshins, the one's we have today, I believe, worked together to stop it. Dai Kioshin managed to imprison Buu away, but not Darkness. However, it dealt a massive blow to Darkness' cause.

"To prevent anyone else from learning about the matter, Dai and the others covered up the entire thing. They killed those who were aware of it. Only scraps of information remained. To make up for the immense destruction, they invented the legend of Evil. Really, though, 'Evil' is just part of the latent Darkness."

"I get what you're saying." Goku looked thoughtful. "Why is Darkness back now? Just a gradual increase in hate?"

"That would be part of it. However, I have another clue that sheds a bit more light on the issue. Thanks to you for getting me the book on history. Dai Kioshin and his compatriots have begun tapping into Darkness to gain more power for themselves. This granted them a lot of energy, but the negative consequences were astronomical. The barrier between reality and Darkness is much weaker now. Now, it's on the rise again.'

"Which is why we've seen beings like Eclipse."

"This is a lot more serious than I thought."

"That it is," Piccolo agreed solemnly. "That it is."

  
  


Pakihaun casually tore off his weighted gi and turban and tossed them to the ground. Froug remained still, neither attacking or displaying any sign of life. Cracking his knuckles, Pakihaun glanced at him coolly.

"I know who you are."

"It doesn't matter," Froug snickered. "Dai Kioshin lied to you. Even if you knew the truth, you'd never understand."

"I understand one thing," Pakihaun told him icily. "I understand that I'm going to destroy you."

"Bring it on."

Instantly Pakihaun sped to Froug, and kneed him in the gut. Before he could recover he slammed an elbow into his head, smashing him to the ground. Smashing one foot into his back, Pakihaun smirked as he ground his opponent further into the dirt. Froug couldn't compare to him in power, and his battle with all the others had worn him out.

Still, Froug managed to get out from under his foot and above. From his higher vantage point, Froug fired downward. Pakihaun flew through the blast, it glanced off him. Then Froug froze as he found a hand placed dangerously over his chest.

"I hate you," Pakihaun hissed, then he sent a blast of energy through him. Froug's body fell to the ground. Pakihaun dropped down to kick him a bit. Rolling over so he faced up, Froug smiled a final time.

"You're no better than the rest." His voice was a dying whisper. "You don't really understand, do you?"

As he breathed his last, Pakihaun waited a moment, considering his words. They were nonsense, he at last decided, a last psychological trick. He didn't need to be worried. 

He should have been. Dark flames surrounded him, and in moments Pakihaun was one more warrior controlled by Darkness. Around him on the battlefield, broken bodies were strewn everywhere, the last of what remained of the once great Celestial Fighters. Darkness, now with a new and fresh body, flew over the horizon. There was much work to do.

  
  


"I sense a horrible evil," Piccolo went on. "Something extremely dark. It is my belief that Darkness is using its power to possess those with impure hearts like a virus, and it's spreading. Chapuchai was just the beginning. I can sense worse things happening elsewhere. I don't think it can possess too many people at once, but those it does possess will probably cause enough destruction to possess more. Especially with the universe as it is now. Most likely, when the warrior it has chosen is killed, it will be killed in hate, allowing Darkness to merely transfer its possession over to the warrior who killed its former host."

"Is there any way to beat them?" 18 asked.

"Wait a second." Goku stopped any reply Piccolo would have made. "If we fight them, won't we just further their power? Can we guarantee that they won't possess us? How can you defeat something like that?"

"It isn't as bad as it sounds," Piccolo told them. "Though you have hit upon a difficulty. We can't just say that certain people are evil, then kill them and remove the evil. Darkness is a force, and you can't just randomly destroy anything that has it. Because it's in just about everything. And if someone 'defeats' Darkness but succumbs to it themselves, nothing is gained."

"So do we have any hope?"

"Do you remember how I said Darkness is really a force?" Piccolo asked. "Well, that isn't all there is to unreality. Somehow, there is a mirror image of Darkness. It is entirely different, it has no conscious. But somehow, the two are complete enemies. This one exists only because of what little good there is in the world. It does not act or change reality in any way. It simply is."

"Where is this other force?" Goku questioned.

"Ah. That's the odd thing. This counter-Darkness, Light we could call it, is sometimes tapped into by people. Through their development, it evolves inside them."

"I get it," 18 interrupted. "It's the truth thing, isn't it?"

The light within the room intensified slightly as all three of their eyes shone brighter for a moment. Piccolo smiled.

"You're correct. As far as I know, the three of us are the only ones anywhere that are part of the Light. I don't think it actually helps us any, or increases power like Darkness does. But one thing it does do is oppose us against Darkness."

"So it's guiding us?"

"No. That's the confusing part. To a certain degree, the whole thing is parallel. We aren't who we are because of the Light, we are the Light because of who we are. So Light is more defined as having that opposition to Darkness, not the cause of it. That's a bit irrelevant for the current battle, however. If I'm correct, Darkness would like nothing better than the complete destruction of this core dimension. From there, everything attached to it falls apart."

"So we go and stop it?"

"You have the idea. First off, Eclipse is still unaccounted for. Finishing him off would solve most of the problem here in the Afterlife. What's worse is all those that Darkness has possessed. It isn't enough to finish them off, or cast out the Darkness. We have to imprison it, and then destroy it."

"How do we do that?" 18 asked. Piccolo smiled.

"I was hoping you'd ask."

  
  


"I can't believe I'm doing this," East Kai muttered, glaring across the small table at West, who adjusted his monocle cheekily. He had interrupted her right in the middle of a good motorcycle ride. Hmpf. Some business he probably thought was horribly important.

"I hate you as much as you hate me," West told her, "but this is a serious matter. All of my Celestial Fighters are unaccounted for. Do you know why this is?"

"If you're insinuating I had something to do with it, you're sadly mistaken," East told him condescendingly. "I was merely enjoying myself until you arrived." 

"Something is very wrong, I-"

The table was burnt to a crisp as dark flames leaped around them both. When they faded, both blinked dark eyes and stood.

"Will these bodies be sufficient for the task?" one asked the other. What had been East nodded.

"For now. There is time."

Both leaped into the sky, and were soon gone.

  
  


South Kai glanced up briefly. Something was very wrong. Not only had he suddenly lost contact with his Celestial Fighters, something was doing a lot of damage in other parts of the Afterlife. He considered carefully, and realized it was mostly in the upper Afterlife and the western branch. It didn't concern him then. Let those Kais handle the problem. For now, he had more important things to think about.

A blast suddenly arced from the side, and South Kai barely noticed it in time. Once he was aware of the blast, however, he batted it aside.

"Who are you?" he roared, searching the area around him. Nothing answered him.

"Do you really think you can stand against a Kai?" he asked his unseen assailant.

"Yes."

Whirling to the source of the word, South Kai found himself unable to see who had spoken, as they remained in shadow. Then, the fighter stepped forward to face him, and South found himself facing West. Something was horribly wrong, but South couldn't put his finger on it.

"Die," West said coldly, before launched another blast of power. South knocked this one aside as well.

"Are you a fool?" he asked, firing a blast of his own. "We are both Kais! We're equals! You cannot possibly win against me!"

"Not necessarily."

Another person had spoken. South Kai glanced briefly over, only to see East Kai as well.

"What is this, an alliance?"

"You could call it that."

While South Kai was momentarily distracted, West launched a blast that hit him this time. Blasted through a nearby wall, South slowly got to his feet, then fired a blast directly back. West leapt over it, but East failed to move in time and was struck.

Smashing her another time, South Kai felt West Kai smash into his back. Falling, he got to his knees and barely leaped in time to avoid another blast. Rising into the air, he fired a massive energy burst downward, but West and East knocked it aside together.

Both attacked at the same time, and South couldn't keep up with two fighters. In seconds his defense failed, and he found himself pummeled from all sides. Landing painfully, he rolled to the side just in time to avoid East's attack, and flipped up, hitting her back. Anger filling him, he fired a spiraling blast at West, who was smashed directly in the face. Maintaining his balance, West removed his shattered monocle.

"That's it."

West fired a blast, and South met it with his own. Neither gained an advantage, but as it happened, it didn't matter. East returned, firing a series of attacks that smashed into South. Unable to contend with two fighters of his same rank, South Kai fell, and did not rise.

"We had not intended to kill him," West said coldly. "But I suppose there is little lost."

"We have another task to complete."

"That is true. Where is the North Kai?"

"Still on his own planet."

"Good."

In an instant, both of them were gone, leaving the fallen Kai behind.


	36. Episode XXXIV: Afterlife

And thus continues the Darkness-unleashed chaos within the Afterlife, though by this point it is reaching a focal apex. Also, by this chapter Light and Darkness should be fully explained. I realize this concept is not self evident, and I have done my best in the story itself to explain it, but I suppose I'd be open to specific questions.

  
  


To the one in need of specification: weird review (there's a significant amount of tongue in my cheek, here).

  
  


Actually, the battle between Pakihaun (yes, I do realize that it should technically be spelled and pronounced Pikkon, but I strongly prefer my version, which is how I originally misheard his name. Consider this an effect of this alternate universe) and Goku will not be as Afterlife-shaking as one might imagine, for a number of reasons:

1) The Afterlife is by large much more powerful. The Kais are stronger, and most of the Kioshins actually still exist. Overall, there's much more power being thrown around, so they stand out less.

2) Pakihaun is a bit weaker, as a result of universal balance, though Darkness somewhat negates this.

3) Goku is far stronger than his cannon counterpart. For one, he has had to go through far more, and for another, he's been sparring with a powerful opponent for quite some time, meaning that his progress is very high. He is actually capable of going to the third level of Super Saiyan, but refuses to do so with the power drain involved. In short, he's in a completely different league.

Actually, you'll see what happens this chapter...

  
  


-

  
  


King Kai laughed at South's predicament, getting beaten up by someone. He had continued laughing until, suddenly, South's ki had ceased to exist. It served him right, and King Kai would benefit from this, but there was still something wrong. Whoever had killed him meant business. 

Waving his antenna and sensing around him, King Kai attempted to search for the killers but found nothing. There was a good possibility they were on their way here. If so, they would get more than they bargained for. Walking outside, he found Bubbles and Gregory. They needed to leave. Gathering a bit of energy, King Kai transported them away from the area. Now all he needed to do was get his car to someplace safe.

Turning to it, King Kai was thrown backward by a blast that seemed to fly from nowhere. His car erupted into bits of shrapnel. Gritting his teeth, King Kai wildly fired at the location the blast had originated from. West Kai was unprepared for a counterattack so soon and was struck in the stomach.

Glancing around him carefully, King Kai identified those fighting him as East and West Kai. Where these really the ones who had killed South Kai? He could sense something was wrong, but it was a presence he had not felt before. Once he had beaten them, he could figure it out. Perhaps some research would be necessary. For now, however, he finally had a legitimate reason to beat on the other Kais.

Rushing forward, King Kai managed to surprise them for a few seconds. That was all he really needed. Grabbing them by the shirt collars, he hurled them both away from his planet. Not that it would actually stop them, or even deal that much damage. What it would do is buy him a bit of time.

Raising his hands to the sky, King Kai began gathering all the surrounding energy that he could. His small planet didn't have a lot of ki, but it had enough to create a decent sized Spirit Bomb. It probably wouldn't require more of that. As he considered his energy, he found himself slightly worried. Normally it was purer than this. Probably a result of the other Kais being here, contaminating his energy. Served them right.

They landed just in time to be struck head on with a large blast. King Kai laughed and shook his head. It was just too easy. The typical rules of the Afterlife stated that no single Kai could defeat two. But with his technique, it had been pretty easy to do so.

Dust faded, and both West and East were still there and intact. Gritting his teeth, King Kai realized something was a lot more wrong than he had thought. There should have been no way for them to survive that blast. Not only did they survive it, now both hurled massive energy blasts in his direction. Raising a shield, King Kai weathered the blast, then fired a few of his own.

East Kai deflected them, and West Kai was already in the air, flying closer. Concerned with breaking East Kai's defenses, King Kai failed to notice him and was struck directly. Falling backward, he fell victim to another set of large blasts from both of them. Things were not going well.

Rolling to his feet, King Kai decided it was time to get serious about the fight.

"Kio-ken!"

Red energy began to rush over King Kai, and both of the other Kais hesitated in their attack. That was a mistake. Attacking with a boosted frenzy, King Kai smashed into them. Blasting West Kai into the stratosphere, King Kai rained down upon East, pummeling her into the ground. Just as he was about to finish her off, a blast from West Kai knocked him off course.

It didn't deal that much damage, but did stun him long enough for West Kai to smash into him again. Something had definitely changed about him, King Kai decided, his blows hurt a lot more than they should have. As he landed, however, King Kai found himself getting to his feet only with difficultly.

"You might have granted yourself a large amount of power," West Kai smirked, "but it's wearing out your body. You can't keep fighting like this."

"Wanna bet?" King Kai smirked back. Throwing back his head, he yelled, "Kio-ken x 2!"

The rush of power forced off the tiredness that had been in his bones before. Fresh with energy, King Kai hammered into West Kai. West attempted to adopt a more defensive style, trying to wear King Kai out, but found it wasn't enough. Now at twice his original power, King Kai could not be stopped.

Just as King Kai dropped to the ground victoriously, a blow smashed into his back. Tumbling, King Kai expected to see East Kai, but was surprised to find that the Great Kai was there instead. Something about him had changed, too. This was shaping up to be a tough fight. His sneak attack had been dishonorable, but in any case it had taken a lot out of him. Combined with the wear and tear of Kio-ken combat, and King Kai wasn't doing too well.

West and East were both unable to fight, but King Kai wasn't sure he could defeat the Great Kai. It was certain, however, that he couldn't do it in his present condition. Before he could better consider his strategy, King Kai realized that Great Kai was charging him, and that he couldn't dodge. In that case, there was only one option left to him.

"Kio-ken x 3!"

A burst of red energy suddenly flared into existence around King Kai, and the Great Kai was blasted backward. Before he could recover, King Kai kicked him then backhanded him. To his horror, the Great Kai only fell back a short distance and attacked again, this time catching King Kai. As he fell back, watching the Great Kai follow him to attack again, King Kai realized he was fighting a losing battle.

Great Kai could take a lot more damage than he could, and hadn't done as much fighting. Plus, the longer things went on, the weaker King Kai would get. He had to finish the fight now, if he was ever going to finish it. Just as Great Kai got to him, King Kai fired the remainder of his energy directly up. Then, he finished his fall, landing hard on the ground and not getting up.

Unfortunately for him, one blast alone was insufficient to bring down the Great Kai. Only a bit weakened, the possessed Great Kai dropped to the ground. Moving to the other fallen Kai's he imparted a bit of his power to them. Then, he slowly moved over to the fallen North Kai, bent down beside him, and began forcing Darkness into him as well.

Before he could get very far, a blur flew from the side and slammed into Great Kai, sending him backward, smashing through King Kai's house. The blur continued, slamming into both East and West, sending them off the planet. When it slowed, King Kai recognized it as North Kioshin.

"Why are you here?" he asked weakly. North Kioshin glanced down at him.

"To stop Darkness. I drew the short straw and had to go help you lowlifes."

No further conversation took place, as all three of the possessed warriors had arrived back, and now faced off with North Kioshin.

"It's three to one," Great Kai told him, "in a battle of powers you cannot possibly win."

North Kioshin flicked back a lock of hair carelessly. "Correction. It is three Kais to one Kioshin. One Kioshin is worth far more than that."

As if to prove him wrong, all three fired a massive blast at once. Their energy combined and was launched together, a beam of black energy that struck North Kioshin directly. King Kai felt the energy as it nearly struck him, and shuddered at the power behind it. He saw, before the others, that North Kioshin made no attempt to dodge, and allowed the blast to sweep over him uselessly.

Silence reigned as the cloud of dust billowed around where North had been struck. Then it was broken by the ominous sound of metal scraping on metal as North drew his sword. Flying from the cloud of dust at top speed, North Kioshin cleaved East in half, and in the same motion, hurled the sword. It struck West directly, finishing him off as well. Great Kai attempted to strike the lone Kioshin warrior, but was batted aside by a backhand. Picking up his sword, North turned to the Great Kai as he charged once again.

King Kai was barely able to follow his movements as North Kioshin swung around Great Kai in a series of slicing sword techniques. When he stopped, the Great Kai fell to the ground, Darkness in his eyes crackling.

"Worthless scum," North Kioshin muttered, replacing his sword. From the ground, Great Kai laughed.

"This body," he said, barely audible, "is finished. But its work is done. Our power has only increased. All you have done is nothing but an exercise in futility."

Raising a finger, North Kioshin incinerated him. He began to walk off, leaving King Kai to struggle to his feet. 

  
  


On the far side of the galaxy, in two different locations, Darkness swelled up yet again. Black flames rose from the ground, and two different figures were engulfed. Within seconds, two new drones had been made. Both teleported from their location.

  
  


Finally making it to his feet, King Kai noticed two figures appear above North Kioshin. Both fired large energy blasts. Should he warn him to look out? King Kai decided not to. Served him right for acting so high and mighty. The two balls of energy slammed into the Kioshin, sending him into the sky. They also smashed into the planet, and the shockwaves tore it apart. Managing to get enough energy to fly, King Kai avoided the fiery destruction of his planet.

In control of his flight, North Kioshin instantly glanced at his attackers. Both East and South Kioshin flew closer, and North Kioshin saw that their eyes were a solid black. 

  
  


"Do you understand what we're going to do?"

"More or less," 18 responded. "After I find the possessed people; how do I destroy Darkness?"

"Right. I can't tell you now, but I know the information is on this page. Give me a second and I'll figure it out."

"You won't have that!"

All three of them glanced up in time to see Eclipse above them, and then a bolt of flame shot down. It took Goku a second to realize that the true target was the book, and by then it was too late. Whatever type of flame Eclipse had used, it burnt the book in Piccolo's hands to crisp in a moment.

His work done, Eclipse opened a portal and fled into it. This time, however, he was a bit sloppy about it. Leaping after him, Goku managed to catch hold of his energy trail. Ripping open Eclipse's portal, Goku nodded once to 18 and Piccolo and dived through it.

"Great," Piccolo muttered, dropping the ashes he now held.

"So what are we going to do?"

"Our timetable just got pushed. This is going to be close. First, you go stop the possessed warrior in the upper Afterlife we've been sensing. I'll find Dai Kioshin and deal with the problem there."

"But what about Darkness?"

"You do understand how to imprison it, right?"

"Yeah, I got that part."

"Do that first. I'll try to figure out the rest later. I can contact you psychically when I figure it out."

"Alright."

Piccolo blasted off, and 18 raised two fingers to her forehead. Within seconds, both of them were gone.

  
  


Eclipse cursed as he realized Goku was following down the same portal. Now, he needed to somehow take the fight to his home court. Bending the portal slightly, Eclipse aimed them to the lower Afterlife. Then, he slammed out of the portal and into reality again. Glancing around him, Eclipse failed to move in time to avoid Goku, who followed him from the portal in full body-check mode.

Flying through the air, Eclipse waited for Goku to try and follow up his attack, then smashed him in the face. Dodging to the side, Goku managed to only get clipped by the blow. As the force spun him around, he held out a leg, which struck Eclipse on the stomach.

This time, instead of attempting to physically attack again, Goku launched a flare of energy after Eclipse, who raised a shield against the blast. Swiping a hand through the air, Eclipse launched a invisible, cutting line of ki. Sensing something, Goku twisted to the side, avoiding it. In response, he did something with his hands and seemed to separate, but then he was one again. So either his technique failed or it was only meant to confuse, Eclipse determined.

Either way, he was going to pay for it. Swiping the air several more times, Eclipse launched more lines. Goku seemed barely able to keep up with him, and each blast nearly struck him. Grinning savagely, Eclipse put even more energy into his assault. Occasionally a beam managed to hit Goku, but the saiyan shrugged it off and kept dodging.

Suddenly Eclipse felt his arms and legs twisted behind him by some other force. Straining to look, he realized that Goku was somehow behind him. Yet, across the battlefield Goku was still dodging the last of the ki arcs. How was this possible?

The first Goku flew over to where Eclipse was. Struggling, Eclipse tried to escape this other Goku's grasp, but found that he was slightly overpowered. Just slightly, however. Just before Goku struck, Eclipse figured it out. Somehow, Goku had split himself into two different forms, one of which had gotten behind him. 

Striking as fast as he could, Goku hammered away on the now defenseless Eclipse. His blows were only half as powerful, but he needed his other form strong enough to hold off Eclipse. But it was irrelevant, he could still deal plenty of damage this way. Then, Eclipse let out a yell, and a blast exploded from him. Falling back, Goku called his other form to him and fused once again. 

Jumping with all of his power and speed once more, Goku caught the overconfident Eclipse and sent him hurtling through the sky again. Catching himself, Eclipse zoomed back toward Goku, who charged in return. Both became locked into a close-quarters fight.

  
  


Pakihaun suddenly reigned in his flight as a form materialized in front of him. Whatever it was, he sensed no Darkness, so therefore it had to die. Firing a massive sheet of energy, he smirked and began to fly on, assuming nothing could have survived his attack. He hadn't realized that 18 had ducked under his attack, and now slammed him with a kick to the jaw. As Pakihaun fell back, he left himself open for a hard jab to the rips that sent him flying.

As 18 rushed to attack again, Pakihaun let loose his full power. The blast struck 18 just as she reached him and sent her blasting backward and to the ground. Dropping to the ground, surrounded by his ki aura, Pakihaun smirked at her as she made it to her feet.

"This body was the greatest of the Celestial Fighters. Who are you to try and stop me?"

18 didn't respond, except with a concentrated bolt of energy that nearly took Pakihaun's head off. Sliding along the ground a little bit, he attacked again, but found himself easily evaded. A foot struck him on the back of the head, sending him for the ground. Turning his fall into a roll, Pakihaun regained his feet, and fired a ki blast backward. Leaning to the left, 18 let it pass harmlessly by.

Sliding back further and into the air, Pakihaun began launching a flurry of blasts toward where she stood. Dodging a few, 18 waited for a sufficient dust cloud to rise, then teleported out and behind Pakihaun. She patiently waited for him to waste his energy. Still believing he was dealing damage, Pakihaun continued to blast the ground beneath him. He fired blast after blast, but eventually he realized something wasn't right.

He couldn't feel 18's presence, but he did sense a slight disruption in the air currents behind him. There was a good bet she was there. If it wasn't her there, it hardly mattered who he killed. Continuing to fire pointlessly at the spot of ground, Pakihaun began gathering energy. When he had enough, he suddenly whirled and launched all of it in a blast that struck 18 directly.

When the light faded, however, 18 still stood there, now surrounded by a faintly visible shield. She raised an eyebrow, then slammed a fist into his chest. Falling back, Pakihaun struck the ground, and barely made it to his feet. Now, however, 18 recognized that he was beaten.

Moving her hands into the position Piccolo had shown her, 18 felt the pressure of energy rise, then clenched her hands tightly. The technique worked, a wall of crystal suddenly shot up around Pakihaun, then collapsed inward. In the end, however, a glittering sphere of crystal hovered over Pakihaun, who was still on his knees. Inside the crystal writhed whatever Darkness had been in Pakihaun. Exactly as Piccolo said it would be.

Walking to the crystal and taking it, 18 glanced inside thoughtfully. There seemed to have been quite a bit of Darkness inside Pakihaun, more than Piccolo had guessed. The only side effect that could have, however, was hurting Darkness more than normal. For now, she'd have to wait until Piccolo figured out how to destroy the Darkness.

"Die!"

Pakihaun, taking strength from somewhere, attacked. 18 glanced to see if she had missed some Darkness, but realized there was none there. Which mean that he was attacking of his own free will. Without moving from her spot, she effortlessly deflected his attacks.

Gather a bit of ki, 18 formed it into a long string, which instantly snapped around Pakihaun. It wrapped around him, then tightened and hardened. Unable to move any of his limbs, or stand properly, the warrior unceremoniously fell. Struggling, Pakihaun found that the ki rope bound him completely, and he was unable to break it. It had taken him off guard, too; he was very well bound.

"Stay there," 18 told him needlessly, still considering the crystal containing Darkness.

"Do you think you can get away with this? The Great Kai will here of it! All of the hosts of the Afterlife will descend upon- mumph!"

Flicking a finger, 18 formed an energy gag around his mouth. Unable to make himself heard at all, Pakihaun merely fumed in silence.


	37. Episode XXXV: Afterlife

Are you sick of Kais and Kioshins yet? I certainly was, back when I was writing this. This chapter will begin to fully draw this Saga to a close, though it is not enough to end it. Unlike the Darkness-induced battles that have taken place for some time now, we have actual significance in this chapter.

  
  


By the way, those of you who say Darkness and Light are reminiscent of Dark and Light Goku... don't bother. I'll solve your problem for you now: Darkness is completely and irrevocably evil. After all, it is but a mortal label for that which personifies (as much as the case may be) evil. 

  
  


-

  
  


Slicing horizontally, North Kioshin forced East back slightly. Renewing his attack, he pressed forward, forcing his opponent back again and again. South Kioshin flew in from above, but North easily dodged his attack, then sent them both flying. Instead of coming back, however, they both suddenly vanished.

"Cowards!" he yelled, but realized they had teleported. So where had they gone? Sensing the Afterlife, he suddenly felt their energy as it flared up in some manner of combat. Blasting off from the remains of King Kai's planet, North Kioshin sped off in hot pursuit.

Sitting alone on the end of Snake Way, King Kai rolled over and moaned. Only rubble remained where his planet had been, and North Kioshin had destroyed most of the rubble during his fight. Worse yet, the fight there hadn't even decided much. It was going to be a very bad day.

  
  


Arriving where he had felt the battle, North Kioshin realized that all was still now. Three forms dived from the shadows, and he barely managed to evade all of them, then jumped back to get all of them on one side of him. Instantly he recognized South and East Kioshin, and then with a sinking feeling recognized the third fighter as West Kioshin. This situation was getting worse by the moment.

Throwing back his arms, East Kioshin attacked North with raw power. Responding in kind, North easily threw back his energy, and the light around him began consuming East's light. Then South threw his energy into the battle as well, and North found himself sorely pressed. Whipping his sword from it's sheath, he raised it over his head and let out a yell. His power glowed with even more light, and began to fight East's and South's at a more even level.

West Kioshin calmly took the gigantic sword off his back. Jumping into the sky, he brought the sword down on the ground hard. A shockwave slammed out in a straight line from the point of impact. North was too busy battling the others to see the shockwave come toward him, tearing up ground along the way. 

Already worn out from his power battle with the other two, North Kioshin was rendered unconscious by the shockwave when it struck. The impact blasted him off the ground and through a nearby wall.

Trying to locate Dai Kioshin, Piccolo suddenly sensed the battle of sheer power. It was a bit off his path, but he supposed he needed to stop whatever was going on. Sensing further, he confirmed his suspicions that Darkness was involved somehow. On the Kioshin's planet, no less. Perhaps the situation was even more dire than they had first imagined.

  
  


Goku's blow sent Eclipse smashing through the lower Afterlife, snapping mountains as he went. Landing, Eclipse was still pushed back along the ground several feet. Attacking again, Goku was surprised as Eclipse suddenly seemed to just dissolve. Ducking the next instant, Goku barely avoided the kick that had been aimed from behind.

Rolling out of the situation, Goku watched Eclipse carefully. As of this point in the fight, Eclipse hadn't shown the ability to do something like that. It hadn't been a teleport, at least not in the conventional sense of the word. Experimentally, Goku attacked again, and Eclipse used the same technique.

Watching more closely this time, Goku identified that Eclipse had dissolved into what was a nearly invisible fine mist. The mist flew directly through Goku, and behind him; he couldn't feel it. Slicing the mist, Goku found he was unable to harm it. Instead he contented himself with smashing Eclipse's face as soon as he materialized. Falling back, Eclipse only barely avoided being stomped on by transforming into a mist again, this time to appear far above Goku.

However Eclipse was doing it, Goku knew that he probably couldn't do the same. At least, not without a lot of practice first. How, then, was he going to even the odds? Attacking, Goku found that Eclipse was adopting a totally defensive strategy, dissolving any time Goku got near him, and teleporting far enough away he had to try again.

Not being played for a fool, Goku stopped wasting his energy. Crossing his legs, Goku merely sat in midair, refusing to attack Eclipse. The being nervously considered what to do for a while. Suddenly jerking to the side, Eclipse opened a portal and attempted to dive into it. Sensing what he was doing, Goku launched a flare of ki that blasted Eclipse away from the portal and destroyed the portal itself.

Deciding that tactic wouldn't work, Eclipse merely watched Goku from afar.

"Aren't you going to attack?" he asked.

"Not really."

"Then we have a stalemate, don't we?"

"Not really."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't leave. If you try, I'll have time to connect with a shot. Meanwhile, every second we waste down here gives Piccolo and 18 more time to destroy your minions. Time is on my side."

Eclipse grimaced as he realized what Goku said was true. While this mist form defense was effective, he couldn't possibly win with it. He needed to finish off the saiyan quickly if he wanted to succeed. Already he sensed some small fractions of Darkness disappearing. Now it was a race against time, with the pressure on Eclipse.

He attacked swiftly, but Goku had been fully prepared for that and wasn't caught off-guard. Turning aside Eclipse's punch, Goku swung out of sitting cross-legged to smash both feet into Eclipse, who was knocked away again. Kicking Eclipse in the face, Goku knocked him back and pushed himself away from the conflict. Getting a bit of distance between them, Goku decided to try a technique he had been considering. Grabbing the halo above his head, Goku hurled it toward Eclipse. 

Shocked, Eclipse didn't dodge quickly enough. The shining ring made a nasty gash on Eclipse, and sent him flying. It span around and returned to Goku, who caught it and returned the halo to his head. Instead of regaining control of his flight, Eclipse instead dropped straight for the ground, evading Goku's next attack.

Landing on his feet, Eclipse glanced down and smirked. This was quite fortunate. Goku landed on the ground as well, facing off with him, but he couldn't possibly understand what had just transpired. Scooping a spiked red object off the ground, Eclipse smirked once more. Now, they were sitting in a veritable weapon supply.

Grabbing a few more off the ground, Eclipse concentrated, and they shrank down to become red ninja stars. Hurling them, Eclipse grabbed a few more objects and transformed them as well. In a patch like this, he could go for a long time.

Carefully deflecting the shuriken, Goku tried to figure out exactly what Eclipse was doing. Somehow, each of the small red objects on the ground could become a weapon in his hands. They weren't hitting him, but he had a suspicion they would hurt if they did. The real question was, how was Eclipse doing it? Right now, he was accomplishing nothing with them, but there were a ton of pods on the ground here, as if someone was growing a patch of them.

Snagging one off the ground in a brief ninja star break, Goku considered it as he continued deflecting ninja stars. There were possibilities, but he wasn't sure he could really change it. It was possible that Eclipse was the only one who could use them. In any case, he was certain he couldn't make something as complex as a ninja star. Then again, maybe that wouldn't be necessary.

As he continued to fire the shuriken, alternating a kunai at times in just for variety, Eclipse realized Goku had obtained a pod and hurled it toward him. Was he actually going to try and use one? Ceasing to attack, Eclipse watched it carefully. As it flew through the air, however, it did not change. So he had tried, and failed. Eclipse smirked and easily caught it. How ironic it would be to turn Goku's own attack back against him

In his hands, the pod blinked, once. Glancing down in concern, Eclipse wondered what was wrong with it. In another second he realized the truth; it had already been transformed. Essentially, he was now holding a bomb. Of course, in the second it took him to realize this, the pod exploded.

Grimacing and shrugging off pain, Eclipse drew on a bit of the hatred around him to patch up the wound in his chest. He glanced toward Goku, who hadn't used his opportunity to attack. Goku was gathering energy, and he surprised Eclipse by using it all to punch the ground. Rocks flew up all around from the impact, but little else came of it. Just as he was about to comment on its uselessness, the world exploded.

A gigantic column of flame burst up from the ground all around both fighters. The flames didn't hurt Eclipse much, but he shielded himself anyway. When they ceased, he dropped his shield and laughed toward Goku.

"A clever attack without any power behind it is worthless," he said. Goku smiled, and it puzzled Eclipse. Glancing down, he realized what Goku had done. Everything beneath them was completely wasted, including the entire patch of pods. Eclipse's weapon supply had been essentially neutralized.

While Eclipse was distracted, Goku flew forward and smashed him with a haymaker. Flipping back and springing off his hands, Eclipse got further away from Goku, who waited. For a second, Goku was puzzled as Eclipse seemed to merely punch the air in front of him. Something seemed to shimmer in front of his fist at the last second, but before Goku could figure out what had happened, a fist flew from the air directly in front of his face and smashed him.

Falling back, Goku jumped on instinct, avoiding the foot that drove into the ground where he had been. Eclipse was still across the field. Again he punched the air, and Goku identified the faint shimmer as a portal of some sort. So that was what he was doing, transporting his attacks across the space. It was a clever move. Goku deflected the fist that came his way.

Copying Eclipse, Goku shoved a fist into the air. His portal was not as energy efficient as Eclipse's, but it had the desired effect. An uppercut slammed into Eclipse's chin, sending him into the air. So they were on even ground. A bizarre fight began, both fighters punching the air and then dodging blows that came from nowhere. Eclipse was mostly on the receiving end of it, but he had done this before, whereas Goku was just learning.

Then Goku began teleporting blocks, stopping all of Eclipse's attacks before they even transported. Until Eclipse figured it out, this completely shut down his attempts. Eventually both fighters stopped, worn out from the battle. Gathering energy behind him, Goku launched a Kamehameha forward toward Eclipse.

Smirking, Eclipse made a portal in front of the on coming wave. Having anticipated something of the sort, Goku used Instant Transmission to move out of the way of anything that might come. Eclipse's portal sent the beam out directly behind where Goku had been, and would have slammed into him had he not teleported. As it was, the beam was stopped by nothing, so continued to speed on its original course and slam into Eclipse.

Smoking from the blast, tendrils of Darkness wafting off him, Eclipse glared down at Goku. Gathering energy, Goku began to prepare for something. Eclipse watched carefully, but was unprepared when instead of attacking Goku merely began jerking wildly about, as if he had lost his mind.

Eclipse didn't understand, and it cost him. Forces slammed into him from all sides. As his body was wracked by hundreds of blows, Eclipse recognized the faint shimmer around Goku. So he had created a portal entirely around himself, and now was transporting attacks at an insane rate. Clever.

Goku ended the assault with an uppercut, leaving Eclipse to fall to the ground. The warrior made it to his knees.

"I'm not finish yet," Eclipse told him coldly, his voice rasping now.

"You're not?" Goku raised an eyebrow.

"You don't understand how much hate I have!" Eclipse roared. Dark flames burst around him, twirling in a tight spiral. When they faded, Eclipse was standing, his Darkness glowing darker than ever. Black energy seemed to radiate off him, and the sky around them darkened.

"I have transformed." Eclipse's voice was again smooth and dark. "I am Total Eclipse."

Forming a fist, Goku attacked.

  
  


Landing, Piccolo saw the three Kioshins and instantly assessed the situation. If Darkness was able to possess the rulers of the galaxy, the situation was dire indeed. Needing nothing to provoke them, the Kioshins flew forward in attack. Just as North had been superior to the Kais, however, Piccolo was superior to the Kioshins.

Piccolo ducked West's sword swipe, raised a knee to block East and deflected South's strike with a forearm. Kicking with his other leg, Piccolo sent West flying, then flew into the sky. East began launching bursts of ki at him, Piccolo flew directly at her, dodging to avoid all her attacks. Soon he reached point-blank range, and fired an attack of his own. 

West attacked again, but Piccolo backflipped over his sword and his head, coming around and driving a foot into his back. South attacked from behind, but Piccolo dug one elbow into his stomach. The force of the attack sent South flying into a stone wall, where he crashed and slumped to the ground.

Whirling forward, West launched a series of sword strokes at Piccolo. Finally, on an overhead strike, Piccolo caught the side of the blade and pushed it aside. His other palm struck West directly, and he smashed backward. All three Kioshins were beaten. Glancing around, Piccolo decided not to kill them. They weren't directly responsible in any way. In any case, if he did kill them, Dai Kioshin would rule unopposed.

Making a few motions with his hands, Piccolo crystalized the Darkness within all three. Grabbing all three crystalline orbs, Piccolo flew off once more. Dai Kioshin still had to be dealt with. Right now, Darkness was only imprisoned, it had to be destroyed. Perhaps Dai Kioshin could be persuaded to give him the needed information. If he managed to get to him before Darkness.

Putting on a new burst of speed, Piccolo flew from the Kioshin's planet and toward that of the galaxy's ruler.

  
  


Another blow slammed Goku back, imbedding him into a rock face. Total Eclipse hovered before him, smirking. Goku was impressed by how much power he had gained. So far he had been beating on him. Believing his opponent was immobilized, Eclipse aimed a punch directly at him. Raising a hand, Goku caught his punch. Merely looking annoyed, Eclipse pulled his hand back.

A golden explosion ripped the cliff to shreds as Goku went Super Saiyan, blasting Eclipse backward. Golden light sprang up around Goku, and Eclipse looked worried for a moment. Rushing forward, Goku slammed into Eclipse, who found suddenly that he was far slower than Goku.

More blows slammed into him, and eventually Eclipse managed to escape the conflict and get behind Goku. He took a swipe with one foot for Goku's head, but the saiyan easily ducked. Spinning, Goku caught him in the stomach with one foot. Swiping a hand, Goku launched an arc of ki that blasted him back further.

Healing the cut on his chest, Eclipse powered up once more, darkness surrounding him. Both warriors dove forward at each other, and the impact turned the entire battleground to dust. When the explosion faded, Goku's aura burned brilliantly, and Eclipse's darkness had faded.

Turning, Eclipse raised both hands to the sky. For an instant, everything was darkest night, everything seemed to flash to a negative, and then everything came back to the way it had been. A fist smashed into Goku, and he was sent flying back. Limbs shaking, Goku barely managed to make it to his feet. A weakness seemed to cover him completely; he found standing difficult. By contrast, Eclipse's aura had returned, brighter than ever.

"What have you done?" Goku asked, horrified. Eclipse laughed evilly.

"I've tied the two of us to good and evil. Your power is now directly linked into good in all of existence, and mine to evil. You can guess which of us that benefits."

"Monster!" Goku had no idea how he had done it, but it seemed to be the truth. Every movement he made seemed to be slowed by thoughts of all the destruction he had seen. Looking carefully at Eclipse's aura, he saw all the hatred and violence reflected in it. So that was why he felt so weak. Where was he going to find goodness to power him self? Or how could he reverse whatever Eclipse had done?

Eclipse sped forward, and Goku's eyes blazed viciously. He was not going to just let this happen. Even in this weakened state he was going to fight. Grabbing Eclipse's foot, Goku fell to his back and slammed Eclipse into the ground. Barely getting to his feet, Goku fired a massive ki blast that sent Eclipse back further. It drained him much more than it should have, and Goku didn't think he could pull it off again.

For a while he managed to dodge Eclipse's blows, but then one struck him and it was downhill from there. An elbow slammed him down into the ground, and Eclipse smashed into him again. A head-butt sent him reeling a few steps, and a kick knocked him in the opposite direction. Using all his strength to catch himself, Goku powered up to Super Saiyan 2. The blast managed to slow Eclipse a bit.

Getting one solid hit in, Goku felt his new power already draining. He realized with despair that he had needed Super Saiyan 2 just to stay alive.


	38. Episode XXXVI: Afterlife

Ah, so we finally reach the end of this saga... and, in my mind, a good ending it is. This chapter is also one of my favorites in the entire story, in retrospect. By this point, Darkness is very, very angry. Angry enough to take the ultimate risk. But not for quite some time, so don't hold your breaths.

  
  


-

  
  


In the ruins of a crushed temple, North Kioshin got to his feet. Piccolo had not noticed him, as he had already been knocked into the temple when the Namek arrived. The Darkness in the Kioshins had noticed. His black eyes flickered, and then North Kioshin smirked.

Leaping into the sky, he quickly teleported. Piccolo was attempting to do something that would majorly hinder their plans. He would not be allowed to continue.

  
  


While he flew, Piccolo suddenly felt Dai Kioshin's energy, locked in combat with another power. A power that reeked of Darkness. So he had been beaten to him. Putting on another burst of speed, Piccolo flew to the site of the battle, hoping that he was not too late.

  
  


Appearing on Dai Kioshin's planet, North Kioshin found the old ruler and approaching him softly from behind. Even so, Dai instantly realized he was there.

"Why aren't you at your post?" Dai Kioshin said irritably, getting up from his chair. In front of him, on different seeing crystals, events unfolded throughout the Afterlife. 

"Idiot," North Kioshin muttered, and smashed his superior with a devastating backhand. Dai Kioshin flew back, demolishing part of his building. Getting to his feet, he shot a look of pure malice at North Kioshin.

"Fool!" he spat. "You dare to attack to the ruler of the entire galaxy?"

Crossing the gap easily and striking him again, North Kioshin followed up by ramming a knee into Dai Kioshin's gut, doubling him over. Kicking, North Kioshin sent him flying once more. Landing on his feet, Dai launched a stream of electricity, but North raised his sword and deflected the blast. Throwing back his arms, Dai launched all his power out toward North. In response, North did the same, his own energy now tinged with Darkness. His power quickly encompassed Dai's, and then crushed it.

Walking to the fallen Kioshin, North bent down to look in his eyes. Darkness jumped from one to the other and began possessing Dai as well.

"Don't you see?" North smirked. "I've surpassed you. I don't even need this Darkness to beat you."

Just then, Piccolo dove into the battle, his leg catching North and sending him flying. His Namekiian hearing, however, had caught the last line. I don't even need this Darkness...

It deserved serious thought. Piccolo gave it some as he deflected North's attacks. What could that comment have really meant? Did it mean part of North Kioshin was still active, and that it agreed with Darkness? Maybe that was why it could possess him, because a certain side of him actually wanted that power. Or maybe it merely spoke of how Darkness was a force that lived in everyone.

Dai got to his feet, and Piccolo realized that he had been too late. Now both Kioshin's assaulted him, and Piccolo turned his full attention to defending himself. Soon, however, both began to wear out, and their blows came slower. When he saw a good opportunity, Piccolo struck North. With only himself, Dai couldn't defend and was also struck back. Both warriors came for him again, but now their attack was uncoordinated.

Firing a bolt of ki that knocked the sword from North's hands, Piccolo drove his knee into Dai Kioshin, who fell back and didn't look able to continue the fight. North continued flying and struck him, but the force merely knocked Piccolo back, dealing no serious damage. Spinning, Piccolo smashed North a final time, and the fight was over.

Concentrating again, Piccolo crystallized the Darkness in both of them. Taking out the other three orbs, Piccolo gazed at all five pieces of Darkness he had captured. They were all relatively small bits, as if Darkness didn't put too much emphasis on these possessions. Still, he needed to figure out how to destroy them. All too well he felt the fight Goku was experiencing, trying to stay alive against Eclipse's merciless assault.

But how? Putting all of his mind to work, Piccolo tried to unravel the problem. How could he destroy this Darkness?

  
  


Goku was struck by another wave of ki. Struggling to raise his arms in defense, he managed to at least survive the blast. Eclipse struck him from above, and he plummeted.

  
  


Perhaps there was a way, Piccolo realized. He had the logistics figured out, by all rights it should have worked. But it didn't, something was missing. For now, there was nothing he could do. Yet, if he didn't figure this out fast enough, Goku was finished.

  
  


Three more blows struck Goku, and he fell and struck the ground. Unable to get up, he could only watch as Eclipse floated over him, laughing. Strangely, Goku found his thoughts wandering. If he died now, would he just appear a little bit up in the Afterlife? Would he have two halos? Would he be healed and able to keep fighting?

Above him, Eclipse gathered energy around himself, then rushed down in a slicing blow.

  
  


That was it! Things suddenly clicked together for Piccolo. He had been looking at the whole thing from the wrong direction! Thinking of North Kioshin again had reminded him. Light wasn't the absence of Darkness, Darkness was the absence of Light. His thinking had been backwards the entire time.

Instantly his former plan worked. It was a relatively simple matter, now. Snapping his fingers, Piccolo shattered all of the spheres. They exploded in golden light, and when it faded, there was nothing left.

  
  


Eclipse's eyes widened in horror as the beaten Goku suddenly shuddered with a flurry of golden energy. His downward dive was stopped and he found himself being blasted backward as a gigantic column of white power exploded from Goku. Barely weathering the blast, Eclipse glanced down to see Goku on his feet.

Something had happened. The balance that had been so in his favor was no longer so overwhelming. His own strength was majorly sapped, and Goku's power increased to fill the gap. Leaping upward, the saiyan delivered a move that sent Eclipse flying. Healing his chin, Eclipse realized that it burned, almost like Goku's aura had begun to set fire to it. Why would that be?

The two began fighting once again, but new power filled Goku. As they remained locked in close combat, their auras licked at each other, neither gaining the upper hand.

  
  


18!

She instantly glanced up, hearing her name very clearly in her head. No one was around except Pakihaun, who still couldn't speak. Of course, she quickly realized, it must be Piccolo.

What? she tried to voice her thoughts. Piccolo's presence drew nearer.

I have this figured out. We have to work quickly, because Goku's life is in serious peril.

I know.

Alright. First off, you have to understand that Light is not the absence of Darkness, it's the other way around. That changes everything. So now, we basically just need to add some Light to the mix. Don't focus on it, however, it will happen automatically. Now do the crystallization thing until the third motion. That's just the setup. Then, do anything you can think of, snap your fingers, it doesn't matter, and you'll trigger the reaction.

Right.

Doing it as he had said, 18 managed to pull it off on her second try. The crystalline orbs shattered.

Goku and Eclipse both landed, facing off with each other. Injuries covered both, both breathed heavily. Suddenly there was another outpouring of light around Goku. Raising his arms and forming a shield, Eclipse managed to stand up to the blast. He realized that it must have happened again, that more Darkness had been banished. His own strength wasn't decreased though, so maybe it had accomplished nothing.

Glancing up, he realized that he was very wrong. A glittering sphere of light surrounded Goku and slices of light occasionally burst forth from it. These were painful if they hit, so Eclipse found himself mostly concerned with avoiding them. The sphere began contracting, and it seemed to surround Goku's form, which was bathed in constant light. As the light surrounded him, it then seemed to infuse into him.

His golden hair suddenly smoothed, shooting straight up. As the energy passed, it fell down on his back, looking completely unlike normal spiked saiyan hair. Instead of golden, it glowed a hot white, but the color seemed to be swiftly changing from golden to white to something else he couldn't describe, as if it couldn't decide which color to become. Somewhere along the whole transformation, his halo had been shattered. The aura surrounding him was nearly clear, but it was a tangible presence. Goku opened his eyes, and his irises were a molten white.

"You linked us to good and evil," Goku finally said, his voice contained authority absent from it before. "And you prospered from it. Let's see how you like it when the balance tips in my favor."

"What are you?"

"I am the Light Super Saiyan."

Unable to think correctly, Eclipse merely backed away, horrified. Before he knew what was happening, Eclipse felt Goku's fist slam into him, and he was falling backward, where another blow smashed into him once more. Falling to the ground, he found that the brilliant flames had spread to him now. It was all he could do to put them out with his own Darkness.

Trying to look at Goku, Eclipse found it difficult; the mere sight of him caused pain.

"No!" Eclipse roared. "I won't be beaten like this!"

Around him, legions of dark manifestations began appearing. The earth cracked open and more crawled from it. An army of Darkness surrounded Eclipse, who continued creating more even as they massed. 

"I'll kill you!" he practically screamed. "Destroy him!"

There was a slightly amused smile on Goku's face. He raised a hand and a bolt of light shot from the ground. It encompassed the entire army, blazing into the sky, slicing through part of Snake Way like paper. In an instant the army was dust. At the center of it, Eclipse tried to fight the overwhelming Light. What remained of him was swept away as the beam coursed upward.

With Eclipse's death, Goku returned to his original form. His eyes faded to a normal blue, his hair became black and sprung up to its normal position. The cuts on Goku's gi and skin were healed now. Still, though his body was better, his soul felt extremely tired.

  
  


Piccolo smiled. So it had worked. This battle, at least, was won. It would be foolish to believe Darkness was finished, but it had suffered a major defeat. Around him, the boundaries of reality were once again restructuring. He realized a second later that with reality reestablished, Goku and 18 were going to be thrown back to their own dimension. Had it already happened? Scanning the Afterlife, Piccolo found no trace of them. Down on Earth, he felt two large kis.

Ah well, they knew that they had done well. It did not need to be said.

  
  


Darkness recoiled, falling away from reality. There would be other times. Those who had stopped it would pay the ultimate price. Time meant nothing to it. It could wait.

  
  


Dai Kioshin smirked. Overall, things hadn't gone so bad. True, he now knew that North Kioshin directly opposed him, and getting possessed and then beaten by Piccolo hadn't been enjoyable. That paled, though, in comparison to what he had gained. Darkness had been beaten, and beaten badly. His plan would have to be changed slightly, but it would work. There was no more unknown variable to be dealt with. This was no hindrance in the overall scheme of things.

His losses were minimal. Many of the warriors had died, but they had hardly mattered in the first place. All of the Kais that had died could be replaced with people more loyal to his cause. The destroyed buildings could be repaired with little effort. His apprentice had died, and that was a minor annoyance. But he already had another Apprentice, and if he succeeded, it would matter very little.

High in the Afterlife, Dai Kioshin laughed.

  
  


Pakihaun smashed the tree, sending it flying over the horizon. For all his power, he had been useless in the battle. Darkness had easily possessed him, but even with all the power that gave him, it didn't matter. He had been beaten, pulverized, by some warrior. Before, he had thought none could stand up to him.

Not the next time. He would train. He would work. He would surpass himself and become the greatest warrior the Afterlife had ever seen. The Celestial Fighters were almost entirely destroyed, but he'd get more. Then, they'd once again be the greatest fighting force in the universe.

  
  


18 felt a force violently rip her from the Afterlife. For an instant she had the feeling that she was traveling somewhere, but it passed swiftly and she was a few feet off the ground. Easily landing on her feet, she recognized that they were exactly where they had been before Piccolo called them. Goku was already there, looking off into the setting sun. Had the entire experience only taken half a day?

"The boundaries of the Afterlife are restored, and it kicked us out," Goku explained, sensing her presence.

She didn't say anything, merely walked over to stand beside him. The last rays of the sun continued to peek over the horizon, leaving the world not quite cloaked in darkness.

"Things worked out pretty well, didn't they?" Goku turned to smile at her.

"I suppose," 18 responded. "Do you think Darkness will be back?"

"We can't have destroyed it with that. I can guarantee it won't be back for a while. But whether that time will be a few years, or the rest of our lifetimes, I couldn't tell you."

"Whoever would have thought what we called truth would be so important?"

"Yeah. Before, that was all about just the three of us. Now it's on a cosmic level. What happened to you after we split up?"

"I fought a Celestial Fighter. Piccolo and I both imprisoned Darkness, and he figured out how to destroy it."

"Ah. That must have been what helped me so much."

"What happened to you?"

"I'll explain the whole thing in detail later. For now, I'm kind of tired."

"Really?"

Goku blinked, considered for a moment, then laughed.

"Actually, I'm not tired at all! That's odd. I have absolutely no urge to sleep."

"Funny, neither do I."


	39. Episode XXXVII: Bardock Special

I sincerely apologize for the extensive wait on this chapter. It has been written since what feels like ancient times, but unfortunately my internet location changed to Windows XP. Unfortunately, this lovely operating system refuses to accept any diskettes it hasn't already formatted. Note the irony of this statement, as no programmer with a shred of decency would refer to Windows XP as "lovely." I like my shred of decency, thank you very much.

It took some time to resolve this problem, and days slipped past without managing a chapter. By Wednesday, I decided it was a lost cause, and merely posted this week with last week's chapter.

Regardless, I now present you this story's very own version of the Bardock Special. It doesn't actually go into the past to explain previous events. It doesn't actually explain anything completely new, either. It actually takes place in this time and place. But it has Bardock.

In all seriousness, this chapter is the next extension of the story. By chance it focuses on Bardock, though the true focus of the chapter is elsewhere, as is relatively obvious.

To answer Dreamwraith: I find your comment about the previous chapter appearing rushed interesting, as it was actually extended beyond what I would have preferred. That applies to the entire Afterlife Saga, actually. I'm not sure why it would appear that way, other than the highly fractured nature of the chapter. But you said it doesn't detract from the quality, so I decided to let it pass. 

However... in the process of reviewing the chapter I discovered that all my formatting has been erased. While this is mildly annoying, in later chapters this will actually matter. If anyone knows a simple way to resolve this issue, I'd be pleased. I could manually add HTML tags, but that would require more time than I have.

To the individual who referred to the end of the last chapter: I will assume that you are speaking tongue-in-cheek. All I will say is that I'll become no more suggestive than that.

-

Hovering in his usual place above Dai Kioshin's planet, Piccolo reconsidered everything. This had really changed the way he had to look at things. Looking back, he probably should have seen this coming, but hindsight always saw far better than foresight. Before, the end result of everything had been relatively clear. But Darkness changed all that. With an element that was outside of normal reality involved, the future had grown so much more hazy. Of course, if things moved their normal course, it would work. There was no guarantee they wouldn't change, now.

Dai Kioshin was still scheming, and he still had some tricks up his sleeve, unless Piccolo misjudged him. Somehow, however, that didn't seem nearly as important now. With Darkness involved, the entire battle had suddenly been placed on a cosmic scale. Before, it had all seemed a bit petty, Dai Kioshin and others trying to ruin everyone's lives, and they just trying to live in peace. Now, there was a mission.

The world was so twisted that Darkness would regain power relatively quickly. It wouldn't be able to do that sort of thing any time soon, maybe even ever again. But he was sure it would strike, when the time was right. Until then, he had only to train, and wait.

Concentrating, Bardock felt the conditions on Earth to see what had happened since he had last checked in on it. The Afterlife was almost enough to make him forget about the planet and androids, but not quite. Occasionally he needed to remember, and then he went back to see what had last been happening. Since everything up higher had finally calmed down, now seemed a good time.

"Kakkarrot- is, alive?" He murmured, surprised to feel his son, alive and well. So it must have only been an illusion that he had died. The androids, where were they? He found traces of some of them, they were all destroyed, except one. That 18 girl. Why wasn't she gone yet? Bardock hated her more then any of the others, and he felt for her presence. She seemed perfectly fine.

"If Kakkarrot didn't kill her, what did he do?" Bardock muttered, wishing he could go down there himself and get a better view.

"Perhaps you can," the voice spoke above him. Bardock jerked his head to the side, and saw someone standing there. Green hair stood up in a mohawk that curled to one side, like a breaking wave. Lavender skin was covered by a navy blue suit, one that he recognized.

"Kioshin."

"That is correct," his visitor nodded. King Vegita noticed that he carried a large, nasty looking sword across his back. "I am West Kioshin. I am in charge of the lower Afterlife."

"And why are you here?"

"I mentally felt your wish. It is within my power to allow you a day or two on the planet itself."

"You can do that?"

"We do so frequently. As a spirit, of course, not a body. But it is allowed me."

"Then I'll go."

"I thought you might," the Kioshin smiled a cryptic smile. It was always said that Kioshin could read minds, but this proved it to the say-jin. He stood up and waited for what would happen next. The Kioshin laid a lavender hand on his shoulder and they suddenly both vanished.

Finding himself floating above the planet, Bardock looked himself over, and found himself filmy and transparent, not quite there. West Kioshin still looked normal, and nodded to him.

"This is regarding your son, so watch your step. Master Dai has top security on everything involving him, so I'd be very careful if I was you. You may not have a lot of time, and if you lose your calm, that time will only get shorter."

"Right," Bardock nodded, repeating his instructions. "Be careful, stay calm."

"Good," West Kioshin smiled, then vanished into the air. A second later Bardock found himself transported closer to the planet. Breaking into a run, somehow floating across the ground, he headed toward where he could feel his son's ki. It took him a while to get there, but as a spirit he didn't seem to grow tired, and time was meaningless. Below he saw people working, lives being lived, but no one noticed him, and he never noticed them.

Eventually he neared the house, but didn't seem to find his son there. Floating up above it, he searched through the building, and found it empty. Turning slowly in a circle, he tried to find where his son would be, and eventually a ki seemed to appear in front of him.

Flying toward it, Bardock soon came up upon it, and found his son and the android floating above a field, facing each other. Creeping nearby, he did nothing, merely watching, quickly becoming less than part of the scene. It appeared a conversation had already been taking place.

"Sure you want to do this? This does mean there will be no secrets, no matter how small. Nothing will remain your own. Last chance?" Goku asked. 18 nodded.

"Then in that case, let's do it. First off, take your base power to max, but don't quite power up."

18 did so, and Bardock was surprised at the shock waves that he didn't feel as a ghost. She had gotten even stronger than she had been on Planet Vegita, if that were possible. Whatever was going on, it didn't appear that Kakkarrot was going to be killing her anytime soon.

"Now, I'll try to match yours exactly." Goku powered up as well, and frowned. "This is going to be tough. Could you lower yours just a little bit?"

"Sure, this better?"

"Right. Now that we're equal, concentrate your energy on me, and I'll do the same."

"Like a ki blast or like Instant Transmission?"

"A little of both, actually, but mostly Instant Transmission. Good. Now comes the tough part. Put your palm to mine, your left, shall we say, and then open your energy fields like you would fire a ki blast."

Concentrating, 18 did as he said; Goku's eyes flickered as he did the same. 

"There is only one thing left. You have to leave yourself completely open, destroy every mental barrier that you have in your way. This will be harder for me than for you, so when you're done just wait for me."

There was a flow of ki around them, and then energy whipped through both of them. Searching deep within herself, 18 winched down whatever mental barriers that she consciously or subconsciously had in place. Without anything surrounding her, she felt incredibly vulnerable, and she faltered in lowering the last barrier. Opening her eyes, she saw Goku's closed, calmly stripping aside his own walls. She hoped that he realized that she would never do this for anyone else, then brought down the last barrier.

After a short period of time, Goku removed his as well. And then a jolt like that of electricity ran through both of them. Energy shot from one palm to the other, crackling through every fiber of their beings. There seemed to be a fusion of energy, an explosion of power, and in the resulting vacuum, two minds became one.

Their minds drifted together, in one single consciousness. Bardock saw only them drifting there, as still as death, but inside, there was a chaotic mix. Both found themselves inside the other's mental sphere, swimming in a sea of memories and thoughts. Realizing he was subconsciously holding his breath, Goku summoned his will power and opened his mouth, breathing in 18's essence.

Surprised by the initial shock of his mind, 18 instantly found herself immersed. Everything that made Goku who he was filled her, threatening to overload her mind itself. Pain, so much of it, lancing through everything. Still, a few moments shone through the rest of it like gold, and 18 found herself in his mind, a complete, tender love. Smiling, she returned to the darkness of the rest of his mind, and embraced it.

Goku found the incredible pain, but he had expected that. What he could never have been prepared for was the time during the years of Gero's rampage. Through 18's eyes, he saw every scream, every plea for mercy, every life destroyed. The weight of the memories bore him to a figurative ground, where he struggled to get to his feet again. Reaching for support, he drifted through her mind to more recent years, and was instantly rejuvenated. The more recent the memories became, the less dark they got. Eventually he reached the present, and found that the darkness was almost completely gone.

Whatever else had happened in her past, it didn't matter now. Everything was made new, now that they were together. He smiled, and then felt the gentle tug as their link began to separate slightly. Nodding to himself, he allowed his own mind to run back into his body.

Bardock still had no idea what was going on, as they had been standing there for a long time, merely doing nothing. He felt an energy trickled out from both of them, and it seemed unusual, if not unnatural. When he tried to feel their kis, he found merely a gigantic mass, and couldn't distinguish between the two. Sitting in silence, he waited.

Their eyes opened, both glowing brilliantly at the same instant. When they smiled at each other, there was something new in both. Bardock got to his feet, unsure of himself. He had expected to see a fight, or at least understand what was happening. A ripple of shock broke the unnatural quiet of his mind as he saw his son take 18 in his arms and kiss her.

"He didn't kill her," Bardock's anger began to mount, "he-" 

Before he could finish the sentence, he felt himself being ripped from the fabric of the galaxy. He tried to maintain his calm, and for a second he stabilized and began returning to the world again, but it was too late and he found himself running through a tunnel of darkness and pain. It wasn't long before he reached the end and found himself back in the Afterlife again, crashing against the ground below.

"What...?" Bardock whispered into the wind. "Why didn't he kill her? They should have been enemies! He should have blasted her to pieces, not taken her for his mate!"

"Language, language," Piccolo admonished, standing behind him, slightly smiling as usual, "that's a bit of an outdated term. About three centuries, actually."

"How did that happen?" Bardock was still in shock. Piccolo smiled and casually inspected his pointed nails.

"I don't want to explain the details right now. But he's happy now; shouldn't you be happy for your son?"

"You!" Bardock growled. "I've never understood why no one attacks you, you're just a weakling Namek!"

Launching a larger ball of ki then he ever had, Bardock hurled it at him. It stuck dead on, and there was a tremendous blast that made a giant crater in the ground for meters around.

"There's a reason no one attacks me," Piccolo said, smirking. He hadn't moved or budged an inch. Leaping forward to attack, Bardock found himself suddenly in a choke hold. The Namek held him up a second, staring into his eyes.

"I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a date to make," Piccolo told him. "Consider everything that you've learned, everything you've done. At least know that your 'son' was better then you in every way, and that his life is complete."

Throwing him up slightly, Piccolo tossed Bardock backward. His mind began to slip, what was happening? He couldn't die now, his vision had said he'd be killed by a Namek in purple clothes, not this one in black and white.

"Fate is completely changed." Piccolo smiled, his eyes growing over everything. "Maybe you can predict some other world, but not this one. This is out of your hands. Goodbye."

And then there was nothing.


	40. Episode XXXVIII: Interlude

My problems with Windows XP (other than on a code basis) lie in its handling of diskettes, not in formatting. Various circumstances require me to transfer each chapter to a computer with internet access... and XP computers insist upon certain formatting specifications most operating systems do not meet. This problem will be dealt with shortly.

Meanwhile, I apologize, due to the fact that the chapters will shortly become smaller then usual. I did so in an attempt to make the story be fifty two chapters (a perfect year, you see). More was added at a later date, rendering this effort futile. However, I feel I make up for this in the last two chapters, which are lengthy.

A certain individual gave me a lengthy review, and I have prepared an unfortunately lengthier response. Rather than waste most of my reader's time here, I will place this after the chapter. Meanwhile, the individual in question should read the response first.

-

It was not the best of situations. Not after a defeat like it had suffered. There was little power. But there was hate. There was always hate. Perhaps power was not the best path to travel. Not yet. There were other ways of accomplishing goals. Yes. Darkness shifted, stretching its influence in different, subtle ways. This would require a shifting of values, and complete change in priorities.

But the result would be the same.

A series of ki arcs sped through the air, slicing a rock pillar into several smaller stones. Before they could even reach the ground, a series of blows shattered them to a shower of pebbles. 18 landed amid the stones, and raised a finger. The shattered stones around her rose into the air and began rotating in a violent sandstorm. Slowly a ring of energy formed around 18, and on her mental command it sped out from the center.

The energy blasted everything in a large radius to rubble, effectively clearing the area. Not a bad technique. Not necessarily very effective for combat, though. Leaping into the air, she continued her training. Goku was back in the house working on something, but he had said he'd come out to spar with her soon. She might as well use the time she waited for some good.

She froze the instant something changed. There was a dark presence, one that seemed to coat everything. It vanished a second later, but she had gotten a good feel for it. Darkness. There were a few more kis off in the direction the dark power had been felt, and all seemed to be coated with a dark power.

Skimming just over the ground, 18 headed for the source. In less than a few seconds, she had located the problem itself, amid a group of hills. Raising her angle of ascent, she rose high enough to see what had happened. Four individuals stood below, and she quickly identified all of them. The humans of the original Z-warriors. Except one, the one known as Tien was gone. Odd. More importantly, why were they back?

"There!" She'd been spotted. All of them rose up into the air on her level. There was no point trying to hide, even if she had felt it necessary. The four of them spread out around her.

"Ah, fortunate," Krillin was saying. "We don't even have to go far to find one of our objectives."

What made them think they could beat her? All of them were significantly stronger, true, but that boost was nothing compared to the power that she held. Unless they had some sort of secret weapon, they wouldn't stand a chance.

"If you give up, we'll make this simpler," Yamcha added. 18 continued to ignore them, focusing on what seemed different. After a while, she understood what exactly it was. All of them had a tinge of Darkness, as if they were possessed. But not quite, it wasn't the same. Focusing her eyesight on one, 18 magnified the image several times. They had no pupils, just an empty Darkness. So this was either a partial possession, or a new kind.

Actually, she realized, they were in the perfect position for her ring attack. It would be so easy to pull one off. None of them could dodge, and the ring could destroy all of them. Not yet. Goku wouldn't want her to just kill all of them. Besides, that wouldn't be much fun. Give them a chance. That was fair.

And if they didn't take it...

Gazing down at the landscape below, Tien located what he was looking for. The house. There was no other area of activity nearby, so this had to be it. This had taken him longer than he had initially anticipated; he had thought they were in the city. But still, he had found them here.

Raising his hands in a triangular position, Tien began gathering energy. He could feel Goku's relaxed ki below in the house. This blast couldn't kill him, he knew that full well. But it'd destroy all that he had worked so hard for. Everything he had tried to rebuild would be gone. The Darkness in his eyes glowed brighter briefly. There was enough energy now, Tien zoomed in on his target and prepared to fire.

A ki was raised. Goku glanced up from the book he had been reading. Very unnatural.

"Die!" Tien screamed, while simultaneously firing the massive blast he had collected.

Leaping from his chair, Goku rushed for the ceiling. At the last second before impact he shifted to mist form and passed through it. On the other side, he snapped back into reality in time to intercept the blast. It deflected off him and was flung into the air.

It was a Triangle Cannon. Goku hadn't felt that attack in a long time. Other than Cell, there was only one other person who knew that technique. So Tien was here. How could that be? Above him, Goku saw a form in the air gathering energy, with one arm raised behind his head. 

Attempting to swing his arm down and launch his blast, Tien found his arm suddenly stopped in mid-swing. He could feel a strong hand holding him back. Twisting in midair, Tien used the hand as a springboard to get him away from the conflict. So Goku had sensed him. Not what he needed.

"Tien?"

"Of course it's me, you fool."

"Why are you here? How did you get back?"

"That is not for you to know. Die!"

Rushing forward, Tien stabbed at the air a few times. Each time, Goku easily evaded the attack. Catching Tien's arm, he ducked under the other warrior and came out on the other side. As they passed, though, Goku saw what he had suspected.

"You sold out to Darkness, didn't you? Why would you do that?"

"I have life again. I have more power than ever before. Now I have a chance to destroy you."

"But you forfeited something of yourself. Is it really worth it?"

"Yes!" Multiple blasted sped toward Goku, who calmly batted them aside. Leaping forward, Tien attacked a few dozen more times before jumping back. He had forgotten how good Goku's defenses were. And the saiyan hadn't even attacked yet.

"Listen, you can't win," Goku told him. "Don't bother attacking me."

"Maybe I can't beat you," Tien's eyes narrowed, "but we can!"

Turning, he sped off through the air. It had taken Goku by surprise, so he got a late start. Instead of catching up with him instantly, however, Goku let him fly further. He had said 'we', which meant there were more. Were the other humans here, too? If they weren't stopped, they could wreck a lot of damage. And where was 18?

Krillin rushed forward, only to find white flames burst from the ground, barring his path. He screeched to halt, barely on the edge of the tall wall of flames. Why would he stop for flames? They couldn't hurt him. The Darkness inside of him screamed otherwise. Backing away, Krillin tried to look through the flames, to see what was going on. Someone had been trapped on the other side. So that was her game.

Chou-su slunk around the nearby hill, darting from shadow to shadow. She hadn't seen him yet, so he had a chance to sneak attack. Somehow, the others had been blocked from the fight. There she was; Chou-su crouched low. Gathering everything he could muster, he charged forward at her back.

A yard from her he struck something and bounced back, as if he had run into an invisible wall. 18 turned to look at him.

"Don't even think about it. There's nothing you can do. Just give up now."

"No! I'll fight to the bitter end!"

"You wouldn't accomplish anything. Look, I'd love to kill you, but I'm sure Goku wants you alive. So just cool it until he gets here, and things will be alright."

He glared defiance. 18 shook her head.

"I don't think you understand."

"Nappa seemed far more powerful than all of us! We still defeated him!"

"This is nothing like that." 18 raised a finger. Chou-su felt nothing for a second, then sensed tendrils of ki creeping up from underneath him. He tried to fly up, but he was instantly encased in 18's ki. Rendered powerless, Chou-su could do nothing as the ki bent him over backward.

Spinning around so he was upside down, not of his own will, Chou-su found himself facing 18. She folded her arms.

"You're helpless. I could do whatever I wanted. I could even activate your own self destruction technique." Chou-su's eyes widened in horror. "Like I said, I'm not going to kill you. But I will do this."

There was a profound pain, and Chou-su slumped to the ground. Where he had hung, a crystal hovered in midair. Inside it, Darkness wreathed, but could not escape. Just then, 18 felt Goku's ki as it appeared over the horizon. Another ki was near it, that was probably Tien. Ignoring the crystal, she floated back to where Goku was. Meanwhile, the five humans assembled opposite them.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" Goku asked her. 18 shook her head.

"I just saw them appear."

"Tien attacked me, then ran off."

"All of them are possessed by Darkness."

"The other four, too? I see. I'm pretty sure that's how they came back to life again."

"Hm. I haven't killed any of them."

"Well, that's kind of you. I'll try to talk to them, but I doubt anything will be accomplished. Listen," he paused, glancing at her eyes, "if they refuse to change, could you do this? They might be evil, but they were still my friends."

"Sure."

"Both of them." Yamcha smirked. "This gets better and better."

"Yeah," Tien grunted. "I found the other one. Let's take them both down."

"Wait." Goku intervened, stopping their conversation. Five pairs of black eyes turned to look at him.

"What do you want?" Krillin growled.

"This will be a pointless conflict," Goku told them. "None of us need to be fighting. I know that Darkness has possessed you, but I'm willing to forgive that. Just don't hurt anyone and leave us alone."

"We're here to destroy you!"

"But you don't have to. Chou-su's Darkness has already been taken from his body. He's still living. We could do that for the rest of you, and you could be free."

"Nah." Yajirobe smirked. "Darkness is most of our power. We're gonna take you down!"

"Don't throw your lives away! Surely you understand that an attack like this is pointless. We don't even have to like each other, but the least we can do is not be at each other's throats. If you take my offer, we can both leave, and we don't have to see each other again."

"Actually," Yamcha leered at 18, "I'd like to see one of you again."

Goku threw up his hands and turned away.

"I can't believe you guys are doing this."

"You'd better believe it!" Goku stopped in mid-step. 18 could see his eyes glow for a second, a sad glow.

"No. I can believe it. I always have." His voice was sad. Goku began walking away from the area.

"You're just going to leave?"

"18, do this." Goku didn't stop walking.

"You coward!" Krillin yelled. "Hiding behind someone else!"

"What am I hiding from? You?"

"Yah!" Yajirobe took a different approach and attacked, sword swinging. Goku didn't turn, but raised a hand behind him to block the attack. The portly samurai's blade hit Goku's arm at an odd angle and slid off. His momentum kept him going, and Yajirobe slammed into the back of Goku's hand. There was a distinctive crack, and Yajirobe fell to the ground.

This finally moved Goku. He whirled and knelt down by Yajirobe's body, his look horrified.

"Look what you have become!" Tien told him. "You're nothing but a killing machine!"

Goku didn't move. 18 watched him, wishing he didn't have to go through this. The remaining four warriors attacked, and 18 let them go. It didn't matter. All of them slammed into Goku, who didn't move. A whirlwind of movement stormed around Goku as the others struck him from all sides.

Amid the flurry of attacks, Goku stood, staring down at the body of Yajirobe. He felt the blows that struck him, but there was no pain. None of them had enough power to do any damage. Let them attack, if it made them feel better. How had something like this happened? All he had meant to do was block the strike, perhaps break the sword. Not kill him. It had been so long since he'd been around anyone but 18 that he had gotten used to using a lot of power in everything. But what did this say about him? Effortless. That was what the killing had been.

Standing, Goku expanded his ki around him, taking a deep breath. The warriors were tossed away a short distance, where they landed on their feet. Turning finally, Goku glanced back at them. He sighed again.

"If you insist. Let's fight."

Tien fired a Solar Flare, but both Goku and 18 nullified the attack. Rushing forward, Goku caught Tien in the midriff and threw him into one of the nearby hills. 18 rushed through the group, sending the other three flying. Chou-su failed to get up. Whirling, Yamcha smashed the ground where 18 had been a second earlier. A backhand to the side of the face sent him over the horizon.

Ducking, Goku avoided another of Tien's blows. He noticed that as they fought, Tien was performing the same four-armed technique he had so many years ago. When two more arms suddenly appeared on Tien, the ferocity of his attack doubled. Weaving in between the flying limbs, Goku easily evaded every attack that came his way. When Tien split into four different forms, Goku continued dodging.

All four surrounded Goku, and fired blasts toward the center. Calmly raising his hands on either side of him, Goku absorbed the energy from those beams. The beams aimed for his chest and back splashed against his ki shield harmlessly.

Sweat dripping down all four of his bodies, Tien realized that his beams were being pushed back. Unable to break away from the conflict, he could only take the damage as his own energy smashed back into him. Knocked onto the ground, Tien concentrated and collected all of his bodies again. They moved back into him, and he felt energized once again. Then there was a cold boot on his neck.

Opening his eyes, Tien saw Goku standing over him.

"You've used all your tricks," Goku told him. "They haven't worked. This is over."

Instead of killing him, Goku merely rapped him lightly on the side of the head. Enough to knock him out. He turned back to the battle.

Yamcha flew through the air, unable to stabilize himself. Hey look, he thought, what's an elbow doing in-

The blow smashed him down, and he found himself embedded several feet into the ground. It hadn't hurt as much as he had thought. Getting out of the impression he had made, Yamcha brushed himself off. So either she wasn't as powerful as he had thought, or she was trying something else. Raising his head, he caught a glimpse of 18 looking at him. Definitely the latter.

A kick racked him painfully, and Yamcha doubled over on the ground, unable to move. 18 didn't bother to finish him, and blasted away from the battle. There was one of them yet unaccounted for. He wasn't dangerous to her, but given a chance he could destroy the city pretty easily. Couldn't let that happen. Yamcha would be incapacitated for now.

He was moving sporadically, going from place to place. Almost like he had a specific goal. There was something odd going on with his ki, a very dark feeling. Also, he was getting faster. Just as she finally zeroed in on Krillin's ki, 18 saw a sight that made her skid to a halt. A second later Goku skidded in beside her. Both stood silently, unable to voice their deep disgust.

Krillin bent his head up from Tien's body. There was blood on his lips.

"What have you done?" Goku's voice was odd. It held a tone that rang of rightful contempt.

"What was necessary." Krillin got up and wiped off his lips. "I have absorbed their Darkness and power into my own. Now at last I can reach my full potential."

"You killed them! 18 and I had both let them live!"

"They are unimportant." The Darkness in Krillin's eyes was burning darkly. "Now I'm going to finish you."

"Let me do this," Goku told 18 softly, "I can't allow that to stand."

"Go ahead."

Just then Krillin attacked, but both of them easily escaped his blast. Goku appeared above him, his foot clipping him on the chin, sending him backward. Slamming across the ground, Krillin rolled to his feet and launched a massive blast toward Goku, who calmly deflected the blast.

"You were always stronger than me," Krillin hissed. "No matter how hard I tried, you'd always be superior to me."

"Is that what this is all about? Wanting to be better than me?"

"Yes! I can finally attain my face as the most powerful warrior on the planet!"

"And I was the only thing that was in the way."

"It isn't fair! You were always stronger!"

"You're lying to yourself." Goku's eyes were hard. "You'd like to claim that it's the galaxy working against you, a matter of genes. But there is a simple reason you were never stronger than me: because you didn't deserve it. You never worked hard enough, never pushed yourself very far. At some point you would always find a reason to get out, or claim that was the most you could do. In all the years we fought together, I only saw you use your full potential when your life was in danger. When I won, it was because of hard work. Nothing more."

"No! You lie! I'll kill you now and prove it!"

"Foolish. Do you realize your power doesn't exceed four million?" 

"Four million? I am invincible!"

"There is nothing you could do to me." Goku did not smile, because of the seriousness of the situation. 18 could sense that he felt like it, and knew why he found that amusing, however. He had to rate at least three and a half billion by the system Krillin was using.

"Not again! You were always so much stronger!"

"Alright then. I'll lower my power to your level. We're equals in power and speed."

"You fool! I'll kill you!"

"No. If I win, it will be because of skill."

"Get ready to die! Darkness is waiting for you!"

-

I am pleased to see a thoughtful, intelligent review from an apparently new patron of this work. Please, allow me to reciprocate at length by clarifying/extrapolating/refuting. While this missive may contain interesting information for others, none of it will be essential.

In regard to Goku and the Light: the distinction is an extremely fine one. I understand it fully, but I can only hope I have fully expressed this in the story. At the moment I will merely direct you to the part of the story in which Piccolo explains it, and say that the various events you mentioned are a direct result of extreme willpower altering reality. However, there are things occurring about which you know absolutely nothing, so do not formulate too much at this point.

You are correct in saying that the Buu Saga is the subsequent plot arc, though not immediately. Of course, the scope is quite different and perhaps somewhat broader. In regard to Bibidi... later events will shed some light, and I believe you can deduce what happened.

Seven more years? Hardly. Do not limit your thinking in any form by the timeline of the cannon universe. Darkness is outside of reality, and can change it completely. At this moment I will truncate my commentary by saying that the holding of breath would not be futile.

The inclusion of Goten by biological means would, in my opinion, remove any shred of credulity this story may possess. Even just scratching biological issues reveals a great many problems. The preceding statement is ironic in that we've already broken biological laws such as genetic inheritance. So allow me to say now that you shouldn't wait.

Redemption is a worthy theme... but it is not this story's theme. If this story has any higher purpose, it is a very interesting look at the nature of evil. At the very least, you understand this: evil is hardly evil unless it causes pain, does it?

Certain events yet to come (and some already far behind us), may seem relatively needless at first glance. To assume this is a fault on my part would be to overlook the fact that they have been written for the very purpose of being needless. All too often we trivialize evils (especially war) by dramatizing them. This is, in my humble opinion, a very important part of the story.

I can understand how Piccolo's destruction of Bardock could cause Eh-esque thoughts. Indeed, it was something that could have been avoided on my part. However, I decided to accent the reach of Darkness... on this issue let me merely say that had Bardock's path been allowed to continue, the adjective "harmless" would not be accurate. I realize this may seem ad hoc, but please allow me a few concessions.

In regard to everything relating to power levels: not only do I not approve of Toriyama's power levels, I dismissed them out of hand for the creation of this story. My system is completely different. Make no attempt to rationalize these with those given in the series or in the official lists: they exist solely for the purposes of this story.

Perhaps I can provide somewhat of a revelation about the lesser quality of this work's prose: by literary terms, it is ancient. The oldest parts of the story are greater than four years old. While I intentionally omit my age at the time, allow me to say that my literary abilities at the time were infantile, in comparison to my work today. 

Dragonball GT... sorry. At the time I didn't know enough, and at the moment I cannot afford to squander time on such pursuits. I don't find DBGT worth the effort in any case. Also, an event that has not yet occurred would render such events somewhat trivial.

You mention Kaioshins... I don't seem to remember having any in my story. We're referring to different beings, my friend. When I spell a word as "Kioshin" it is exactly what I intended. This is a small detail to show the difference in worlds... you will notice another, more obvious, later on in the story, inserted for the same reason. Let me reiterate that Dai Kioshin is an entirely new character.

I find your comments regarding "cosmic" and "petty" amusing, though not in the same sense as yourself. Truly, I added the line in question solely because at the time of writing I glanced back and felt that what had already gone on was somewhat petty. Allow me to extrapolate, in this paragraph and two others.

My logic at the time worked along these lines: So far Dai Kioshin has been attempting to ruin Goku's life, apparently just out of nastiness (though this is not the case). Piccolo has merely been trying to stop him. This strikes me as squabbling, nothing more. True, we've had extremely powerful villains... for a single planet, in a single solar system, in a single galaxy.

Secondly, you neglect to mention that being master of the universe does not make Dai Kioshin master of all there is. Darkness and Light are both outside of the universe, as well as the apparently thousands of alternate timelines running parallel. Compared to a force that has consumed countless universes, one little dimensions doesn't seem so important, does it? Of course, this is an oversimplification... this one reality is more important than this paragraph has made it appear.

Lastly, I must shake my head at your anti-dualistic view. I may disagree with the Gnostics on many accounts, but their views are preferable to physicalism. In case this doesn't make sense to you: you assume that the physical reality is all that there is. Just because the entire universe is involved does not mean that the conflict has any worth. The relatively value of the universe is overestimated. Perhaps this issue stems from conflicting definitions of cosmic. I would, however, strongly suggest that the word does not connote merely the collection of atoms that makes up a universe. 

A fusion between Goku and 18 wouldn't work in any case (presuming the dance method, presupposing they have no method of obtaining Portura Earrings). An interesting idea, but one discarded long ago. I fear there will be no fusion in this story.

From the beginning I have decided that Master Roshi would not appear. Don't expect even a cameo in this story on his part. Of all characters in DBZ, the good Muten is probably my least favorite... he was far too much of a crutch and plot device for Akira Toriyama, in addition to possessing other negative qualities. Master Roshi? No.

  
  



	41. Episode XXXIX: Interlude

This is one of my personal favorite chapters, in more ways that one. Moral dilemmas may not be at all in the realm of DBZ, but I really don't care. It has a few lines that should perhaps make you think for a moment or so. 

By the by, when Goku says "What have you done?" in the last chapter, it was supposed to have been italicized. I've experimented with this one, it might work. At the worst, you'll just see my tags and understand what was meant to be italicized.

As previously, questions are after the content so as to be unobtrusive.

-

Leaping off the ground, Krillin dove for Goku. Ducking, Goku caught Krillin as he went past and smashed him into the ground. Backing off, Goku evaded Krillin's kicks as he leapt to his feet. Just as Krillin turned, he met a left cross to the face.

Flipping through the air, Krillin righted himself and flew at Goku. He hit nothing but air, and skidded to a swift halt. From above, Goku tried to strike him with an elbow, but Krillin deflect it.

"I thought you said we'd be equals in speed!"

"We are. My version of zanzoken is just better than yours."

"Gah!" Krillin hurled a multitude of blasts in Goku's direction. Goku kept as ahead of them as long as he could, but his speed was significantly lower. When the blasts began to come dangerously close, he teleported from the situation and behind Krillin. A roundhouse kick sent him flying.

Roaring in anger, Krillin launched a blast. Goku slipped to the side and deflected the little that struck him. Krillin was already rushing up, but Goku had expected that. He planted both feet on Krillin's shoulders and grabbed his head. While Krillin was immobile, Goku launched a powerful blast that sent Krillin into the ground.

Smashing down at Krillin, Goku found him easily gone from the situation. Turning just in time to parry a few more strikes, Goku kept Krillin away from him. At the same instant, both got a blow through and they flew through the air in opposite directions. They flipped upright at the same time, but Goku was already charging a blast, which he fired. Krillin ducked it easily.

The heat-seeking blast circled around quickly and smashed into Krillin from behind. He fell to the ground, and got up slowly.

"Darkness..." he whispered, only because of his heightened senses could Goku hear, "grant me strength!"

Dark power roared around Krillin. His eyes became completely black. Goku sensed his body under an incredible amount of stress from so much evil energy inside him. Still, it had jumped his power up to six million. Not a bad increase at all.

"We'll pretend that I can't get any stronger."

"You'll die!"

"Bring it." Krillin rushed forward, his speed increased by dark power. The instant he neared Goku, the saiyan shifted into mist form and allowed his opponent to pass through him. As soon as Krillin was on the other side, Goku changed back and smashed a foot into the back of Krillin's head.

Flipping backward, Krillin avoided the blasts that Goku fired. Attaining his feet, he looked at him scornfully.

"I'm far stronger than you! Did you really think that'd hurt?"

In response, Goku created a portal and punched through it. Taken off guard, Krillin was struck with a devastating uppercut. More blows rained down on him before he defended against the attacks. Jumping back, he began gathering energy above his head. Goku took the time to gather what little power he had.

"Destructo Disk!" The red blast sped toward Goku, but the saiyan was well prepared for the attack. Bending backward, he allowed it to pass over him. Moving his feet up, he landed lightly on the Destructo Disk and continued his spin, launching the attack back at Krillin.

Throwing his ki around him, Krillin managed to knock the blast aside. He took his eyes off Goku for too long however. Stomping the ground, Goku sent a moving impact through it, and the force knocked Krillin into the air. Appearing above him, Goku smashed him down again.

Krillin landed on his feet, ready to defend against an attack. He was not ready for the explosion that took place beneath him as Goku's ki blasted upward. While he was undefended, Goku got across the field and struck him again. Striking back, Krillin launched a punch that Goku's wrist only barely turned aside. To his surprise, however, Goku's hand seemed to melt and wrap around his wrist. While he was still surprised, Goku pulled him closer and smashed him again.

Transforming his nanoprobes into a clawed hand again, Goku delivered a nasty strike to Krillin's chest. Anger filled Krillin's eyes, and for a second he could only gape. Then he struck back, with a blow that he had put a lot of ki into. The pain was bad, and as Krillin's fist struck him, Goku found himself thinking. That attack could never have harmed him before. But here, at this level of power, it hurt. Still, it had left Krillin open.

Counterattacking, Goku sent a ki coated hand into Krillin, who flew through the air. Extending his metal arm, Goku caught Krillin's foot and pulled him back, where he was struck by another blow. Landing across the field, Krillin got to his feet, eyes disbelieving. Goku's hand reformed and then faded to look normal once again. Krillin stared at it.

"What have you become?"

"Huh?"

"Your hand... your abilities... that's twisted! You can't count as human, you've become a monster!"

"And this is coming from a guy who drinks his former friends' blood for the sake of power."

"That's irrelevant!"

"No. You've gotten so used to being able to come back to life when you want, that you've forgotten how precious life is. They're gone. They won't come back. They cannot ever come back."

For a second, Krillin was silent. Then his eyes hardened. "I don't care."

"Then this is over?"

"You're stopping? You're taking your former power? See! You cannot defeat me on fair terms!"

"No. You are beaten. You just don't realize it yet."

"Fool!" The Darkness in Krillin's eyes blazed brightly. In Goku's own, something responded.

"Reap what you have sown!" Energy flooded around Krillin, his own dark power escaping from his body. It curved around, slamming into him and through him. The Darkness had given Krillin life and power, and now it was taking it away. When it was finished, there was nearly nothing left. Only a pool of Darkness remained.

"Catch it!" 18 called suddenly, but it was too late. The Darkness darted away, disappearing in the hills. From the bodies of the others, what Darkness remained escaped.

"It's still here." Goku said carefully. "Just hiding. We have to find it."

"Right. Let's split up."

Turning, both warriors vanished over the horizon, in pursuit of Darkness.

Something was there. Something that shouldn't have been. Glancing about carefully, Goku scanned for it. There wasn't a ki, but it was definitely a presence. He saw a shadow skim behind a boulder. There. Expanding ki around him, Goku burnt away all hiding spots near him. A shadow of a form remained, standing out obviously on the landscape.

"So you've found me." The voice sounded like it wasn't quite there.

"You're part of Darkness."

"Well, obviously."

"How can there be another of you so soon? After what happened to you before?"

"I'm not the same. A fraction of what the others were. I'm just a light shade of Darkness. That's who I am- Shade. That's a good name. No, I am not here to try and dominate everyone. I have a far higher goal in mind."

"What do you mean?"

"You might find out." Shade turned and sped off over the sky. He was fast. Goku flew into the sky to attempt and chase him down.

The crystal snapped over the Darkness, imprisoning the dark blob. Landing beside the crystal, 18 snapped her fingers, shattering it entirely. Yet another one. She'd already tracked down all but one of the bits of Darkness. Goku was off somewhere, chasing something they hadn't sensed before. As soon as she could find the last one, she could join him in whatever he was doing.

Rising into the air, 18 closed her eyes and purified her mind as much as possible. Instantly her ki senses became much more attuned, but that wasn't what she was looking for. She had long ago found that free-floating Darkness had no ki whatsoever; sensing it required more extensive work.

As her ki senses could see it, the world was created in hues of color against a black backdrop. A few kis stood out against the darkness, there was a faintly glowing dot over the horizon where the city lay. To her left moved a veritable sun where Goku flew. Her senses went a level deeper, and everything snapped to black and white. She was floating in a sea of gray. She could see brilliant glows surrounding herself and Goku. Out of curiosity, she 'glanced' toward the city. It was a swarming mass of darkness.

There. Something darker than that. Darkness. As soon as she got a fix on it, 18 leapt into the air and flew in that direction. Most likely, it could sense her coming, so she had to be fast. Below her, the fleeing pool of Darkness came into view. Slowly she pulled closer to it.

Now she was within range. Performing the technique Piccolo had taught her, she imprisoned the last piece of Darkness. Slowly her flight, 18 moved back to the glowing crystal. Snapping her fingers, 18 destroyed the last bit. There. Her part of the job was done.

"Very impressive." As 18 turned to see who had said something, thoughts immediately flashed into her mind. It was a familiar voice, just slightly twisted. A touch of what Darkness felt like, a touch of something otherworldly. Considering, 18 realized that it sounded a good deal like the twisted version of the Z-fighters' voices. Before she completed her turn, she already knew who it was.

Gero, or something that appeared to be Gero, stood a few yards away from her. More accurately, he floated, his feet a few inches off the ground. If she focused, she thought she could see the area behind him. Odd.

"I haven't seen you in a long time," Gero chuckled, glancing her over. "You've gotten stronger."

She had a suspicion about this, but decided to test it anyway. Raising a hand, she fired a blast that enveloped Gero completely. When the light faded, he had not moved. The ground behind him was destroyed.

"Don't bother attacking me. I'm not even really here. A ghost, you might say. Isn't that grand?"

"Why are you here?"

"Darkness. That's not important. Now that I am here, I can do what I please." Gero drifted closer. 18 tensed, then forced herself to relax. He couldn't hurt her. Even if he had a physical presence, even if he could reach her in time, his blow couldn't do anything. Wait.

"You know," Gero said thoughtfully, "you really were my perfect creation."

"What?"

"I didn't realize it at the time. I thought Android 19 was superior to you, and your brother was at least as good. Then there was the entire Cell bit of nonsense. In fact, I think I counted you the least of my androids, because 16 was my strongest.

"But I didn't look quite far enough. You were different from them. You've gotten stronger. What really makes you different from them is your ability to survive."

"What do you mean?" 18 asked. Dimensional magic was not her strong point, but she'd picked up a few things from Goku. If she remembered correctly, Gero could be unraveled. Let him say whatever he wanted, it was probably just a matter of time.

"Look at yourself. The others foolishly attempted to continue as they had before. All of them were destroyed for their efforts. You, on the other hand, adapted to the circumstances. Now you're quite safe. Plus, you've become stronger than ever before. If I gain the strength to return, I know one of my creations will be alive."

18 shook her head. He was delusional. Could she undo a magic lock without knowing the source?

"You've done well with that saiyan, mind you. I never programmed you with the capacity to bend before a greater power. Now you've taken a lot of his best techniques. You've used him well."

"I think you're sadly mistaken. You would regret the day you return."

"You dare defy me?" Gero's hands instinctively came up, blue lightning pouring from them. Even as 18's attack had passed through Gero, she couldn't even feel Gero's lightning.

"This works both ways. You can't hurt me. Besides, Goku modified me so the lightning has no effect on me. I think you'll find that you can no longer control your 'tool.'"

Floating back, Gero looked shaken for the first time. "But... but... it never was about control, was it? I didn't have to use that lightning, you would have obeyed me, wouldn't you? 17 was going to keep obeying me. 16 always obeyed. When I come back, it won't matter, will it? You-"

"Oh, shut up."

"You would speak back to me?"

Ah, there is was. 18 smiled slightly and took a better hold of the magical 'pin,' so to speak.

"This is over. I don't think you understand this at all."

"You could rule the world! After I became victorious you could have anything you want!"

"Let me make this clear." 18 bent close to stare into Gero's ghostly face. "If I ever see you again, you are going to die. Do you understand me?"

"But, you can't get rid of me!"

"Goodbye." Pulling, 18 tugged the magical thread from the energies supporting Gero. Stripped of its core thread, the spell dissolved, and Gero disappeared without a sound. Back to the Afterlife. If she ever got another chance to go there, she'd have to make a special effort to find him.

Something odd was going on over the city. 18 sensed there and found two powers, one obviously Goku. The other was some form of Darkness, but she couldn't recognize it. Whatever it was, the Darkness within it was growing stronger.

They floated over the city, neither attacking. Below them, hundreds of people scurried around, going about their normal lives. No one was yet aware that a face-off was going on above them. If a battle began, they would know soon. Sighing, Goku glanced back up at Shade, who drifted sideways.

"The two of us really aren't so different, are we?" Shade asked suddenly. Goku was surprised and failed to answer. He wouldn't have been able to, because Shade continued speaking.

"Humanity scurries down there, concerned with their own petty worries. Carrying their own hatred. You do know what they'd do to you if they could, don't you? They'd kill you, and everyone you care about. They're already beginning to destroy their planet. All of them are hate-filled, disgusting, immoral beings. The only thing they look out for is their own good, and they'll step on anyone they can to get what they want."

Goku remained silent. What he said was very true. But he thought he understood what Shade was doing and that worried him.

"You know," Shade went on, voice tinged with sarcasm, "that sounds strangely like your reasons for fighting me. I love your double standard, 'hero.' You decide which of the monsters to destroy, and kill them so that other monsters can live. I am nothing worse than their hate. Who are you to say that they are any better than I? But yet you will battle to save them.

"If you let me kill them, you'd cause less pain, wouldn't you? After all, there's only one of me. But they'll spread, destroying everything in their path. They'll multiply and consume anything they get their hands on. So aren't you just hurting things? You're being very foolish, you know."

It was a good point. What made them so different? Of course, nothing would justify the deaths of thousands of people. But it was disturbing him, and it disturbed him so much because it mirrored doubts in his own soul. Goku remained silent, letting Shade continue on.

"You aren't like that, are you? No, you've evolved. Isn't it nice of you? Despite the fact that they would love to kill you, you let them all live. Of course, you know that they're all like ants to you. You would never say it, but you know it in your heart. We both know you could kill them all in an instant. They're pathetic fools who don't deserve to live, even if they could defend themselves.

"No, you aren't like them at all. So it is with I. They may have manifested me, but like you, I've evolved. Why would I want such needless hate? There are others. That girl with you. That Namek in the afterlife."

"You know about Piccolo?"

"Oh yes. We know about everyone who has attained a higher level of being. Things would be so much better if we worked together, wouldn't they? It is within my power to bring him back to life. With four of us, we'd be a truly higher form of life. Darkness could make us all immortal. Can you imagine that? You wouldn't even need to offend your worthless morals; all the humans would die on their own.

"Don't you see? You stop me because of the destruction I would cause. But aren't I merely trying to stop the destruction I know humanity would cause? We both labor on a common cause, but you, my friend, are horribly misdirected. I'm willing to forget that if you just agree with me. I could even let humanity live. They'll wipe themselves out, given time."

"I'm not going to let you do this."

"You can't stop us." Shade's eyes narrowed. "We are the Darkness within people's hearts. Even if we can't kill them ourselves, it will be the Darkness within them that causes them all to die. There is nothing you can do to counteract that. They will all be destroyed.

"But it doesn't have to be that way with you. You're better than them."

What could he say? Goku remained silent for yet another moment. The words rang true; he had nothing he could say to refute them. Bringing Piccolo back? Forming a higher race? A noble goal indeed.

"It doesn't matter." That was all he said. Shade drew back slightly, looking at him. Goku could feel the alien mind creeping closer to his, trying to understand what he was thinking. He shut it out.

"They have the capacity to do good. Even they have love. Mothers love their children, parents-"

"For how long?" Shade's words were cold, and they stopped Goku in mid-sentence.

"There is always change. Somewhere, someday, someone might understand. They might reach beyond all the hatred below and see the truth. I defend them for that day; the day when someone sees the Light."

"And if that day never comes?"

"I'll take my chances."

Both silently watched each other. They had shifted into a sideways drifting pattern, they were circling each other slowly.

"Fine," Shade eventually said. "Let them live. I think you're naive, but let it go. But join me."

Goku said nothing. Dark thoughts swirled through his head.

"I never said I understood everything. I have a lot to learn. That's why I need you, to be taught what the truth really means. But together, we can forge a world worth living in."

"Doesn't Darkness want the destruction of everything?"

Shade shrugged. "We're just misunderstood. We don't want everything to be destroyed, we want the world to be as good as it should be. Some of my brethren in the past have believed complete destruction was necessary. But with you, I believe there is another way. But I could solve your problems. I could make your world better again. Piccolo could be brought back.

"I'm sorry if it seems like I'm trying to bribe you." Shade raised both hands disarmingly. "But you cannot understand how much this matters to us. You haven't lived for an eternity, seeing everything that has gone on."

He sagged slightly in midair. Goku noticed that Shade wasn't as black as before, almost a dark shade of gray. Shade glanced up at him.

"I'm tired. So very tired. There's so much wrong with this world. I just want to make things better."

Seeming to collapse on himself, Shade said nothing. Goku considered carefully. At the beginning, he hadn't taken the whole speech seriously. Now, he wasn't so sure. Darkness was all that was stopping them. It seemed ridiculous, how could a being of pure evil become good? And yet, hadn't Piccolo said that change was possible? If Darkness itself could be redeemed, what couldn't?

A color beyond human comprehension flooded over everything, and Goku felt the world freeze. He fell, not through the air, but through something beyond that. Then everything went blank.

There was something beneath him. His eyesight hadn't returned, so Goku felt below him. It was a smooth, cool, marble floor. Something about it seemed unearthly. Slowly, his eyes began to adjust to the unnatural darkness, and he could see around him.

He was standing on a black marble square. Off the edge, a greater darkness stretched into eternity.

"Where am I?" he asked the empty air. He was surprised; he hadn't intend to say it out loud.

"Our mind." The voice was from behind, Goku turned to see himself standing behind him. It was exactly like him, but looked just as Light Goku had done. What was this?

"I am you. Just a single faucet of your being. And yes, I can read your thoughts. Or rather, I can read my own thoughts. We're really all one."

"Am I just supposed to believe this?"

"Believe it." Dark Goku was there, with sunglasses and everything. He walked up beside Light Goku, and the two just stared at him.

"All right. I can understand what you're saying. Why is this happening?"

"We have no idea." Light Goku shrugged. "This is completely alien to all of us, too."

"Then why do you know things I don't?"

"You are more an observer to yourself." A new voice. Goku glanced over and saw another version of himself, this one hauntingly familiar. He saw his own wide eyes and innocent face. His other self (part of himself, he corrected) grinned broadly.

"How many of you are there?"

"Not too many more," Dark Goku told him. "There are some that we never see. I think there are two others that we're likely to see."

"When will they arrive?"

"How does now sound?" Goku glanced for the voice. Another part of him wavered into being. This one was in Super Saiyan mode. It nodded to all of them.

"What are you supposed to represent?" Goku asked.

"We don't necessarily represent certain things. It isn't that simple."

"Yeah, I know that." Goku nodded in agreement. "But some things make more general sense. Dark and Light Goku for example, that's easy to understand."

"He's your drive for power," Light Goku answered the question. "At least that's as well as it can be explained." 

"I didn't realize that merited a form."

"Apparently it does."

"Where's the last guy?" the innocent-looking Goku asked.

"Actually," Dark Goku spoke up, "he's already here." He inclined his head behind him. Concentrating there, Goku saw another of him. This one stood in a shadowed corner of the platform, looking away from them. Even as they looked at him, he said nothing.

"Who's he?" Goku asked. The others shrugged.

"We have no idea."

"Hasn't anyone asked?"

"He doesn't answer."

"And we still don't know why this is happening?"

"I did this." This voice was filled with authority.

All turned toward the voice. A form, wreathed in golden light, drifted from above and landed on the dark platform. Other than the light, Goku saw another person that looked exactly like himself. Somehow though, this one was different. There was a presence about him that was almost tangible.

"So why are we here?" Goku asked.

"I am part of you. What you do not know, I do not know."

"Then what's the point?"

"Call it a self-revelation. You understand things that you do not know."

"What do you mean?"

"I will not explain. But I can show you. I will show all of us."

Everything vanished, and Goku found himself elsewhere. This time, however, he was an intangible presence. The galaxy appeared before him, as if he had moved closer to it, but he felt no sense of motion. Somehow he knew that this was the future.

Sorrow. A wave of emotion struck him like a physical wall. He saw immense pain and suffering. He heard a voice in his mind. It had no sound, no tone, so he couldn't place it. Almost as if it was not really there. In fact, he could almost convince himself that he was thinking was the voice said.

[i]Now. All that could have been.[/i]

"What happened here?" Goku asked. Or maybe he didn't. Maybe he merely thought it.

[i]You have made a choice. You are allied with Darkness. You finally attain the life that you have wanted. And you have never been more miserable. Piccolo returns. And you will forever rue the day that he came back. The evil of humanity fades into the past. With its passing, so went the purpose of life. It is the golden age. It is the worst thing that this galaxy could ever come to. It is the future.[/i]

He was floating above the city. Everything was normal. No time appeared to have passed, Shade was still looking at him. But something had changed, Goku felt extremely different. The words, or perhaps thoughts, kept echoing in his mind. So much pain, so much sorrow.

"Well," Shade said, "you understand my offer. Work with me. Help me make this galaxy a better place. Help us attain the life you've always wanted."

[i]"No."[/i]

"What?" Shade was shaken. Something was wrong.

[i]"All that is good does not create good."[/i]

"What are you saying? Why won't you help me?"

[i]"I know what you would do. I will not allow it."[/i]

"Stop it!" Shade attacked him. Goku swiftly flew to the side and smashed into him, sending him falling through the city. Catching himself on a nearby building, Shade propelled himself at Goku, who evaded him once again and caught his foot as he went by. Spinning in a circle, Goku hurled Shade into the street, where he lay unmoving. Again Goku was reminded that he was not truly a manifestation.

Gathering energy, Goku launched a beam downward that annihilated Shade. Not even a wisp of Darkness remained. People on the streets rushed away from the point of impact.

"Fool!" Goku turned to the sound. He saw an elderly man walking toward him. His features were contorted in a grimace, his eyes blazed with Darkness. It was Shade.

"You cannot stop us!" The man slumped to the ground. It was a young woman who had said it this time.

"It is a hopeless war you wage!" An average-

looking office worker.

"We are the Darkness in every heart!"

"So long as evil exists, we will exist!"

"There is nothing you can do!"

"There will be an end!"

The barrage of Darkness ended. All the people who had fallen slowly got to their feet and began to walk on dazedly, apparently not remembering what had happened.

"Hey mister!" A small hand touched his leg. Goku turned to see a little girl holding a doll looking up at him. Suddenly Darkness burned in her eyes; her face was contorted with cruel hate.

"Remember." The Darkness faded, and the bizarre feeling that had surrounded anything vanished. Teleporting from the situation, Goku left before anyone could see him and try to attack. Far from the city, Goku went to his knees beside a gently flowing stream. Shaking his head violently, he tried to clear it was the horrible images. All those people being used by Darkness.

A ki appeared beside him, Goku rose to his feet. 18 had found him and teleported there.

"Is it over?" she asked. Goku remained silent a moment, then shook his head.

"It is over. But it is not ended."

He turned back to her, and saw a glowing light in her eyes. Apparently she knew. Somehow, she could feel what he had experienced. Removing his mind from the events of the hours past, Goku put his arms around 18 and they embraced. They remained there for a long time, not moving.

Their eyes glowed with a brilliant white light for a second, then faded.

-

Now I answer some questions, in the reverse order reviewed.

Dreamwraith: I would have given the power to Tien (I am fonder of his character than Krillin's), but Krillin personifies the human Z Warriors too well. But Darkness's plan is actually far superior to what has been revealed. This is no epic saga, though, and you'll see it all this chapter. All the people saying they're looking forward to the Buu Saga make me feel slightly guilty that I wasn't more original...

In relation to "cosmic:" I see your view then. I suppose the matter would be decided by your chosen definition of cosmic: "of or relating to the cosmos" or "of great importance." But such banter is futile at this point. I believe both of us understand the other's position. I did not mean to claim you had called various events "needless," I was merely using an example that has been brought up in the past by others. 

The Goten Question: a legitimate one. Let me extrapolate on what I meant. If Chi Chi and Goku produce a Goten, why would Goku and 18 produce the same? Admittedly, I could have made a new character with the same name. I doubt that he would be very similar in personality... not with Goku as different as he is now (and his chromosomes have actually changed, a fact that should raise eyebrows from a scientific crowd). They will not have any children, but that's not a biological issue, it's their (and inherently, my) choice.

New Reviewer: Welcome, I'm glad you like it. Allow me to respond on several points. I don't find your critique at all offensive, I appreciate it more than an unintelligently gushing review.

I feel your comment about the fast pace is valid, and not just of you. Indeed, it is one of the accusations I would level against my own story, and change if I were to rewrite it. This is not, however, worth the effort.

If Goku breathing in space bothers you, how do you deal with the battle (of Toriyama's DBZ) in which Bardock is fighting Freiza's henchmen in out space, as happy as a clam (pardon this, I felt I was obligated to use the turn of phrase)? On this issue, and about the arm... you'll have to wait for an explanation. It isn't anything exceptional, but it is an aspect you really know nothing about at this point.

My initial response in regard to your crying comment (which I realize is probably not tactful, but I show never the less for hopefully better understanding) would be: grow up. Under emotional strain, people cry, no matter how powerful they may be otherwise. In similar clinical situations (very loosely) the person targeted went insane. Crying hardly compares. Your comment could almost leave one to believe that crying is an immature reaction.

On the issue of fight scenes, however, I'm going to have to respectfully say that this is just you. While I'll readily admit that this story is weak on description, it's fight choreography is actually quite good. My estimate is that this is simply a difference in writing styles (though in other works I've used different styles. This merely works for DBZ). Were I a more belligerent person, I would probably make the preceding paragraph far more personal.

If you want more description and depth, however, I'd suggest looking at certain portions episode X and the forest scene of XXVIII. You may find some of my other work is more to your liking, given your preferences.

  
  



	42. Episode XXXX: World Tournament

For the first time in some time, I do not believe I have anything to say. Given this, I will not say anything.

-

On the balcony, Goku allowed the cold wind to sweep across him and cool him down. For the few minutes he just ran over the past months, and they were some of his few happy memories. It didn't take very long until fatigue and minor injury from the last training session were gone for good, and he relaxed and just stood there, seeking something he couldn't quite describe.

Looking out into the starry night, Goku searched among the stars for the star that had once sheltered the planet Vegita. In an instant he found it, without explanation. He stared at that star, so far away and seeming so small. Everything he had known about them had been erased from his mind when he was only a baby, leaving him with nothing. He had to wonder.

Who really were the saiyans? Did they have artists, poets, dreamers? Were they all nothing but fighting machines, as the three others he had seen were? When they saw the same starscape that he did now, did they ever see the beauty, the majesty? Or did they only think of new planets to conquer? Even then, did they dream? Part of what it meant to be alive was that. Did they ever fall in love? This race he was a part of, who were they?

Pondering the thoughts while still staring upward, Goku smiled to himself. He'd proven that he could be all of those. But did he really count anymore? He wasn't too sure. Whatever was happening to him had changed enough that he might not technically be a saiyan. Then again, maybe it was pointless speculation.

"What's this?" He felt something interesting flow through the world's data stream. Holding out a hand, he pulled what he wanted from it. A puff of smoke drifted away, revealing a poster beneath. Goku read it over instantly, and realized what it was. Amazing that they were having another one so soon after the whole mess with Cell. But that was the way humanity was, bouncing back every time. This had definite possibilities.

Moving inside, Goku sat down and looked at it closer. Maybe.... maybe.

18 walked into the door, seeking out the traces of Goku's ki. He was sitting in the chair, looking over something, looking interested. Walking beside him, she looked over at what it was. Handing it to her, he leaned back and cocked an eyebrow.

"What do you make of it?" She looked down at the poster. On it was proclaimed another tournament, the newest of an order of world tournaments. Her files mentioned the tournaments of the past, in which all of the planet's strongest warriors met together to battle for the title of World Champion. Scanning over the fine print, she saw that Hercule would not be participating, and would just keep his title. Just like him to avoid the match entirely. Still, 18 found herself becoming interested.

"Are you thinking of going?"

"Yes." Goku nodded. "Not as us of course, but I'm sure a disguise shouldn't be too difficult. You know I've been working on magic for a while, and I'm sure I'm at the point where I could cast an illusion that would protect our identities. This could be a whole lot of fun."

"If you're going to go, I definitely want to," 18 agreed. "Can we expect tough competition?" 

"We usually have something weird come up, and I hear that we could have some visitors from planets other than Earth. But were you going to ask me something before we got into this?"

"Yeah." She had to think a second as to why she had been looking for him. "Could you cut my hair?"

Goku blinked once, quickly. He looked at her slightly oddly. 18 held up a mangled scissors, the blades snapped off. Smiling knowingly, he nodded and go to his feet. Being a saiyan, his hair never grew, and hers grew only very slowly; still, after years it had grown to past her shoulders.

"Any particular reason?"

"I just realized that by growing it I was only trying to be a different person, trying to leave behind the old. But I figured out that I don't need to do that, and things are fine as I am. I figured I'd get rid of a self-deception, at least until the scissors broke."

"Fine by me. Hold still." Taking her hair in his hands he carefully gathered ki. Two solid beams of energy sliced from his eyes through the hair. Sweeping his gaze quickly, he shut off the energy as golden locks hit the floor. The result was another razor sharp cut, almost identical to when he had first met her.

"Thanks," she said. "When can we head for the tournament?"

"Are you ready?" he asked, "there's nothing wrong with coming early."

"I'll be with you in a minute."

Entering her room, 18 rummaged through a drawer and found the original outfit she had worn, shortly after Dr. Gero had activated her. Putting it on, she smiled and brushed her hair quickly. Leaving the room, she found Goku standing with his hands out before him. He was softly chanting something, and energy was growing before him. His eyes were closed, but after a short while they opened and the energy flooded from its tight ball and infused in everything around them.

Having finished his spell, Goku turned to her. He raised an eyebrow at her new, or rather, old, appearance.

"If you were trying to go back to your old look, you certainly succeeded."

"So you like it?"

"Well, given that both of us are covered in an illusion, it really doesn't matter, but sure, I do."

"Good. Will this spell of yours hold?"

"I hope so. I don't know about such large crowds, but it will work, so we're set. Anything else we need?"

"Not that I can think of."

Both of them teleported from the building, and Goku activated the dome. Both of them took a second to feel the energies within the city, then warped there in a fraction of a second. Landing just outside of limits, 18 followed Goku, as he seemed to know where the tournament was. It wasn't far, and 18 was glad for it, because they were walking through the dark tunnels that crisscrossed the city and blocked out the deadly radiation. The overall effect was decidedly depressed, especially since she had been used to being in completely open areas before.

Eventually they came to an opening, and they found themselves in a green field. Over the area was a clear blue sky. 18 was a bit puzzled.

"This area is covered by a force field," Goku explained. "They don't have enough power to cover the entire city, but I guess they decided that the tournament was important enough for them to use some of their energy."

Nodding, 18 enjoyed the ordinary sunlight and a bit fresher air. Goku paused, as if unsure where to go next.

"There are three ways it could be," he muttered, "and this new arena was built after my time. I'm not sure."

Linking into the city's computer system, 18 quickly uploaded all information on the tournament to herself. Browsing through it, she finally found what they were looking for.

"The left arch is the populace entrance, and beside it is the one for entrants. I believe the other one is for signing up or getting tickets."

"Thanks," Goku nodded. "In that case, I suppose we should go about this fairly quickly."

It didn't take them long to make their way to the counter, where a bored looking clerk marked their names down on the list. The illusion seemed to be effectively in place, because he didn't seem to recognize them and merely marked them down on the list under the fake names Goku made.

"You fill up slots beyond the normal tournament set," he intoned. "You will first battle for your place within the tournament brackets. Losing will expel you from the tournament. Any personal injuries that result from the tournament must be viewed as consequences of entering and we cannot be held responsible. Do you agree to these terms?"

Both nodded, and he put their names into the computer, then sat back in his chair and gazed lazily at the ceiling. A while later he seemed to realize they were still there.

"Oh, do you need maps and schedules?"

"I'd appreciate that." Goku's dry tone was lost on the clerk, who was already printing something out.

"Here ya go," he stabbed some papers towards them. "This should be your fights and their locations. If you make it through four rounds and nothing else comes up, you'll finish the prelims and go onto the finals. In that case, go into the big entrance a bit to the west of here. Have a nice day."

The citation rolled off his lips easily, and he returned to staring at the ceiling. Shrugging, Goku turned and went through the main entrance. 18 followed, eyes flickering over the sheet of paper she had been given.

"I'm scheduled for a match in room 24," 18 said, glancing up briefly. "Where are you?"

"11. I'll see you at the finals."

"Of course."

Parting ways, both headed down their respective corridors. Finding his room relatively close, Goku entered and glanced around briefly. He had to brush aside a few feelings of nostalgia, as the preliminary room had been recreated in a near replica of those he had seen in tournaments from his past. Stepping up onto the large platform in the center of the room, Goku crossed his legs and began looking over the area. As usual, the fighting area was unobscured. Currently, the only other person in the room was a tournament official glancing at a clipboard, apparently not having heard him.

"Excuse me," Goku asked, startling the official slightly. "Where's my opponent?"

"Well," the official took off his glasses and wiped them slowly, "this tournament is a bit of a problem, due to the number of contestants. This is one of the elimination matches, so things are a bit sketchy. Someone will get pulled into this, but it was only decided recently, so he isn't here yet." 

"What do you know about him?" Goku glanced down at the paper he held. Kag. His opponent's name was Kag.

"Not a lot, sir," the official shook his head, "and I can't fairly tell you very much anyway. He has some sort of power that apparently wins him matches. You'll see that for yourself."

"Alright," Goku nodded. Not that the attendant's vague description meant anything, but maybe this could be interesting. He didn't really expect much from an elimination match, but stranger things had been known to happen.

"You see," eager to fill the silence, the official spoke up again, "there were 67 warriors who applied for this tournament. 64 is the closest working number."

"So you're doing 3 elimination matches to narrow it down."

"Precisely."

"How did you choose who would be involved in these matches?"

"Random, with those who arrived last with the greatest probability." The official shrugged. "We did try to put the strongest fighters as far away from each other on the brackets as possible to make the finals the most interesting. There, of course, things will be different."

"How so?"

"Well-"

"You don't need to worry about that, you'll never actually make it that far," a different voice cut into the conversation. Inclining his head, Goku glanced toward the door, where his opponent stood. Kag strode forward to his own side of the arena, barely glancing at Goku. Turning, his skintight garb shining briefly, Kag smirked at him.

"Let's get this on."

"Alright."

Flipping to his feet, Goku silently glanced toward the official, who cleared his throat, then shouted.

"Go!"

Deciding to wait, Goku watched his opponent carefully. He didn't feel any particular power coming from him, nor any inclination to power up. In fact, he felt no particular ki of any sort. Both of Kag's hands began to glow as he raised them, and Goku was briefly interested. No ki appeared to be collecting, nor did it appear to be a threat. The seconds dragged on as the glow intensified, and Goku began idylly wondering what possessed people to wear such tight clothing.

Suddenly Kag's hands clapped together. While Goku could have sworn he saw sound waves coming from them, and the official clutched his ears in pain, Goku himself felt almost nothing. For a while he half-wondered if he was deaf, but then Kag spoke.

"What happened?" He looked incredibly confused. Goku smiled.

"Was that it? Was that your attack?"

"Yes!" Kag was immediately defensive, and Goku stopped himself from shaking his head as Kag went on, "That should have taken you out easily!"

"I've protected myself against dangerous levels of sound. My turn now. We'll see how you do against this."

Throwing out a hand, Goku gently pushed a wall of ki forward. It slammed into Kag, who flew through the air, out of the arena, and hit the opposite wall. Jumping over to the opposite side of the arena, Goku checked on him, but he was out cold. 

"So, where's my next match?"

"Not so loud!" the official screamed, covering his ears.

"Sorry," Goku whispered. "Ehere now?"

"Room 43. Versus Ginar."

"Thanks."

Picking up his sheet of paper while leaving the room, Goku glanced at the map briefly, then headed down another of the corridors. One fight down, six to go.

Arriving in room 24, 18 found her opponent already within. Ignoring him, she moved over to the official watching the round.

"What round is this?"

"Elimination C."

She glanced down at her sheet. The fighter's name was Qual. "Okay."

Stepping onto the arena, 18 closed her eyes and waited. The tournament environment felt strange to her, but she was pretty sure the official would start off the match somehow. Feeling ki shifting across the arena, 18 opened her eyes enough to see her opponent. He had been sitting before with arms folded, but now he rose to the awe-inspiring height of nearly three feet. Probing the ki flow around him, 18 found nearly none, and apparently no hidden potential. She smiled slightly, this would be all too easy. Apparently, her opponent saw this.

"Oh, laugh at the short guy, will you?"

"That isn't why I was smiling."

"I'll show you! You'll regret the day your match was against me! You haven't seen-"

"Ahem!" the official broke in before further words were traded. "We're short on time, so we can't just exchange pleasantries. Go!" 

While 18 wasn't sure if that was the signal to start, Qual was. Instantly he began spinning in a circle, slowly moving faster and faster until a whirlwind began to fly around him. The wind in the room began circling around her, and 18 waited patiently for him to make a move. Unless this was some sort of trick, she thought she had his fighting style pegged. Still whirling, Qual began spinning in a large circle around her.

Suddenly Qual angled toward her, parts of the arena floor chipping as the whirlwind around him sped toward her. Pivoting on her heel, 18 blocked his nearest arm and leg, stopping his spin abruptly and completely. Before he could even begin to respond, 18 reversed the direction of her hand and hit him lightly on the side of the head. Qual dropped instantly, dust floating up from his point of landing.

Straightening, 18 turned to the astonished attendant.

"So, where do I go next?"

Raising an eyebrow once more, Goku glanced at the yellow blob across the ring from him.

"So that's my opponent, Ginar?"

The official nodded, and the blob shifted, a mouth appearing.

"You'd better believe it, punk!"

"Right. I bet you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve."

"I don't have a sleeve! Ready to get creamed?"

"We'll see."

"No! I'll crush you easily!"

"Perhaps I can make this simple for you: less talk, more fight."

"Sounds good to me!"

"Well, in that case," the official hesitantly intervened, "Go!"

Waiting a brief second, Goku realized with a start that his opponent was simply gone. Feeling the area, he found Ginar's ki, then glanced toward the location. He barely noticed a shift in the ground, heading toward him. So that was it. Apparently, Ginar had somehow gone into the floor itself. Leaping as Ginar neared him, Goku avoided the attack that struck the air where he had been and landed across the arena.

Again Ginar attacked, charging through the floor toward him. Slamming a hand on the ground, Goku sent shockwaves throughout the arena. As he had suspected, Ginar suffered from it, and was knocked out of the ground. Before Goku could attack, however, he vanished again. Trying to sense him, Goku moved by instinct and barely avoided a blow that came for his head. Flipping away and dodge a few more strikes, Goku figured it out. Apparently his opponent was now shifting into the air itself.

Gathering air, Goku blew forward, aiming vaguely towards where his opponent's ki resided. With almost no substance, Ginar was blown backward by the mighty gust of wind. Transforming back just before he was blown from the arena, Ginar landed, then shifted back into the ground. Considering strategy as he avoided his opponent's attacks, Goku glanced around the area. Apparently Ginar could shift into any nearby material.

Stomping the ground, Goku forced Ginar out into the air. This time he shifted into the ceiling. Ginar saw Goku gesture to the ceiling and realized his opponent was about to use a bit of ki to jar the ceiling. To avoid damage, he shifted to the metal pipe on the ceiling to escape the shock waves. What he didn't know was that he was playing into Goku's hand. Leaping up, Goku grabbed the pipe. Electricity arced from his hand and sped across the pipe instantly. Soon after, Ginar fell to the ground, smoking slightly.

Medics rushed in from another door Goku hadn't seen to attend to the wounded fighter. Goku turned to find the official looking at him strangely.

"Was that even a fight?"

"Yes."

"Strangest thing I've ever seen."

"Where am I next?"

"Well, you've gotten through Round 1. Actually, your next match isn't scheduled begin for ten minutes."

"Who will I be facing?"

"Don't know. You'll fight in room 8."

Goku considered a moment, then nodded. "Who is my opponent?"

"Either Saurian or Lorelli, whoever wins the fight."

"Where are they?"

"Room 63."

"Thanks."

"But why?"

Goku didn't answer, and was already down the corridor. Extra time, that was perfect. With any luck, he could see a bit about his opponents' strategy. That knowledge could easily make the difference in a fight. Ginar had been significantly more difficult than Kag, and had a better trick up his sleeve. He hadn't taken a hit this tournament yet, but if the fights kept getting harder, then things could get interesting when he got to the Final 8. With a slight smile, he continued down the corridor.


	43. Episode XXXXI: World Tournament

My connection to fanfiction.net is in serious jeopardy. It is not helpful in any way that it at times decides that I should not be able to log in. But I am not about to nag our administrators, as I am certain they are doing their best to handle the problem. Administration, especially of a site of fanfiction.net's size, is a difficult business. In any case, I should still be able to give weekly updates.

I'm glad that you like tournaments. I do (hence this section). Also, it's a chance to deal with issues somewhat less grave. It will not be swiftly truncated, either, as its DBZ counterpart. 

Though this section is relatively original (nearly all original opponents), the Buu Saga isn't extremely so. I'm glad that you aren't bothered by this. And rest assured, I do have at least two twists in hand for it. Meanwhile, however, we have a tournament to handle.

-

Long before her opponent had finished his match, 18 was already at the room. Before he even considered which 

room he needed to go to, she had found out his name was Jewel, and about his reputation. By the time he began moving to the room, 18 had a lock on his ki. When he arrived, he had already been analyzed and dismissed.

"Who's my opponent?" he flashed a cocky grin at the official, who pointed. Turning, Jewel realized he had walked past 18 without even noticing her. He grinned again, more of a leer this time.

"Perfect."

Rising to her feet, 18 crossed her arms and waited for him to get on the opposite side of the ring. Jewel ran a hand through his hair and smirked.

"Say, what do you say I save us a lot of trouble?"

18 raised an eyebrow and mentally sighed.

"It'd be a shame to beat on someone as beautiful as you. How about you just give up now and I'll make it up to you later, eh?"

For an instant, 18 wished the illusion was dropped and he could see who she really was. The look on his face would have almost been worth it. Since that wasn't possible, she resigned herself to beating him. Locking into a fighting position, her eyes glowed briefly.

"How about not?"

"Your loss."

She was surprised he gave up that easily, and he attacked. As she slid past his offense, 18 reflected that he had intentionally made a slow attack, expecting her to be easy. As her hand stuck the back of his head, she remembered at the last second to tone down the strength to avoid killing him. Even so, the wall he crashed into was left with several cracks. Flicking back a lock of hair, she figured out where her match was and left.

It didn't take long to get to room 63. Slipping in unnoticed, Goku found the match already underway. Both fighters were clashing in the middle of the arena. He noticed a hole had already been knocked in one of the walls, allowing sunlight to come in and a brief glimpse of an arena outside. Before he could look further, both combatants broke apart, and began circling, watching each other carefully. 

Assuming the green-haired woman was Lorelli, Goku focused on the other combatant, as he felt a strange type of ki coming from him. It wasn't that strong, weaker than his opponent's, but it felt odd somehow. Just then, they charged again, and Lorelli's fist broke Saurian's jaw. He fell backward, and shook himself, barely avoiding the follow-up kick. Running backward, Saurian retreated to the light that shone on the arena.

His blond hair appeared to glow for a second, and his eyes flared a deep green. Blinking, Goku watched carefully as he jumped forward, launching another assault. Lorelli defended, and moved back. Leaping forward and catching Saurian off guard, Lorelli delivered a smashing kick.

Falling to the ground in the sunlight, Saurian seemed to glow once again, and his hand caught Lorelli's foot a second before it connected with his chin. Throwing her backward, Saurian leaped to his feet. Goku's eyes narrowed as he felt that his ki had risen slightly. Had the sun done something to power him up? Lorelli took another hit, but responded with a series of blows that sent Saurian hurtling across the arena.

Slowly getting to his feet, Saurian smiled savagely and flickered once again. Moving into the patch of sunlight, he glowed, confirming Goku's suspicions. Lorelli charged, but Saurian's hands lifted and a bolt of golden light lanced out, striking her directly. She fell backward and out of the ring. Staying in the sunlight a moment longer, Saurian smiled, then walked from the ring. Goku noticed he seemed nearly unharmed, and immediately began thinking. This was an interesting development. Raising two fingers to his forehead, Goku teleported to just outside room 8 and walked in. Sitting down, Goku waited for Saurian. His wait was not long.

Moving outside, 18 glanced at the small area within the building. The sun shone down over the two arenas that were set up in the open. Officials scurried around, setting up tournament details and further matches. Glancing at the door again, 18 confirmed this was Arena C and moved inward. Her match was actually in a different chamber, but if she won she moved on to here, and she wanted to stake out the area first. Several contestant milled around, waiting for matches or having just been defeated. Avoiding them disdainfully, 18 found a darker corner and leaned against the wall, only to find it already occupied.

Hidden a short distance from her, a dark form glanced in her direction. She caught a glimpse of two eyes, which then closed again.

"Hello." His voice was dark and terse, seeming to match him perfectly.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Jayden. I will ask the same."

"Juuhachigou." That had been Goku's idea. Literally, it meant the number 18 in the Ancient language. He had figured few at the tournament knew Ancient, so it would be safe.

"Hmm. You've won two fights, correct?"

"Yeah. Is it usually this easy?"

"No. The competition is weak this year because of the massive lack of a population. You know why, of course," he smiled slightly. In the dark, anyone without enhanced eyes might have seen nothing.

"How'd you survive?"

"Lowered ki, stayed far away. I would have been found eventually, but it never came to that."

"I see. Can you tell me anything about who I'm fighting next?"

"Identification?"

She glanced down at her paper to check, "66."

"Hmm. Yes. Your next opponent will be a Morai, Ryu or Silvia, depending on the matchups."

"Anyone particularly of notice?"

"Not really. Morai and Ryu aren't bad. Not enough to prove a challenge."

"What about Silvia?"

"She's never been to another of these tournaments, but so far she hasn't taken a hit."

"So she's good?"

"No," Jayden shook his head, "there's a catch. She has no abilities, and no ki worth speaking of. Basically the only reason she's winning is because she charms her opponents to the point where she pushes them from the arena."

"Are you serious?"

"Dead serious." Something in his tone seemed final.

"I'm unimpressed."

"Yeah. I was hoping I'd get matched against her." Jayden smiled again, a cold smile. In a way, 18 hoped the same thing. It would be good to see this Silvia get beaten badly by a good warrior. Or Goku, anyone competent who wouldn't be effected by it. She shook her head. Disgusting.

"Jayden!" A voice called from the other side of the area, and he shifted.

"My match is up. I wish you luck."

"You too."

Striding from the corner, his red cape fluttering behind him, Jayden moved across the arena and vanished into one of the doors on the opposite side. For a second, 18 digesting what had just happened. An ordinary conversation seemed so incredibly alien to what she was used to. Her name was called, and she shook herself and left, smiling slightly.

Saurian stepped up onto the arena platform and faced off with Goku. Getting to his feet, Goku looked at him impassively.

"Do either of you have anything to say?" the official asked. Both shook their heads.

"Then... fight!"

Energy burst away from Saurian as his power began rising. Putting out a burst of his own, Goku added just enough to dwarf his opponent's power and worry Saurian just a bit. Eyes widening, Saurian unconsciously backed up, then fired toward the ceiling. The massive blast took out the roof, sending shrapnel raining around them. Allowing it to deflect off him, Goku faced his opponent, who now was bathed in full sunlight. Energy flooded around him, and his eyes blazed a nearly solid green.

Aiming his hands toward Goku, Saurian fired three of the lance rays he had used before. Easily batting all three aside, Goku smiled at his opponent. Gritting his teeth, Saurian fired a large beam that struck Goku, who raised his hands and let the energy bounce off harmlessly.

Before the light had faded, Goku slammed a foot into Saurian's stomach, doubling him over. A cuff to the back of his head sent him tumbling across the ring, where he barely made it to his knees, the light around him much dimmer than it had been before.

"Well." Goku waited for him to regain his feet. "We've seen what you can do. But watch this."

Raising a hand, Goku closed his eyes and concentrated. The frightened official peaked out from between his hands to see what was going on. Barely keeping himself standing, Saurian could only watch. For a brief second it appeared nothing was happening, but slowly a darkness began collecting in the sky. As if something had eclipsed all light, it spread from the horizon. Surprised yells could be heard echoing in the distance.

Then, quite suddenly, the darkness closed around the sun, enveloping the world in darkness. The effect on Saurian was profound, as he instantly fell once again. Around him, the golden light flickered and went out. Worried that he might have killed his opponent, Goku released the darkness, and the slowly growing light revealed the fallen Saurian, who lay still. As the sun hit him again, Goku saw his body move as he began to breath in a deep sleep. Nodding, Goku turned from the arena and to the official, who was looking incredibly confused.

"Where's my next match?"

"Well, since this is the last of the Prelims, we're moving you to one of the outside arenas. Go to Arena B."

"Okay."

Walking from the chamber, Goku tightened a fist experimentally. He actually still felt fine, and he was already nearly to the finals. Of course, in every past year, the Prelims had been easy, but he hoped for something a bit more challenging than this. Then again, if all else failed, he'd fight 18 in the last round. Smiling, Goku headed for his next match.

"Oh, you're here."

The official spared her a glance and returned to his clipboard.

"Who am I fighting?"

"Fighter 34: Silvia."

"Really?" Turning, 18 smiled slightly. Interesting. Well, if that was how things were going to turn out, so be it. While it was a bit disappointing she'd have another easy match, this one just might be worth it. Instead of going to the arena to wait, 18 stood nearby. It wasn't long before Silvia entered the room as well. 

Nothing 18 hadn't expected. Skin-hugging clothing. Extremely low neckline. Lots of hair. Gaudy jewelry. The only challenge in this match would be not annihilating her opponent.

"Well," Silvia purred, glancing around, "who am I fighting?"

"Me."

Stepping up onto the arena, 18 resisted the urge to smile at the expression on Silvia's face. Hesitantly, she mounted the arena opposite 18, who remained silent.

"Go!"

Neither did. Probing what little ki Silvia had, 18 sensed fear. Good. Something in Silvia could sense exactly how much power she was dealing with. Or maybe she was just panicking being paired against another female fighter.

"Now," Silvia began, her voice much less confident, "I'm sure we can work someth-"

"Get out of my sight."

"I beg your pard-"

"I'll let you leave if you go now. Trust me, you don't want to stay."

"That's no reason to be so mean!"

"You disgust me. Last chance."

Seeing Silvia made no move, 18 allowed herself to smile. It was better this way. Stroking back a lock of hair, 18 leaped forward. None in the room could comprehend the attack itself, only the aftermath. Silvia was lying against the opposite wall, unmoving.

"Is... is she...?" the official shifted nervously.

"She's alive," 18 told him. "I can't guarantee she'll be awake anytime soon. But she's alive."

"Well, alright. Go to Arena C."

"Right." 

-

Good thing this wasn't a lame chapter ending or anything.


	44. Episode XXXXII: World Tournament

In regard to the person who suspected Jayden may prove to be important: you are correct. However, it may not be in the way that you imagine. This is DBZ fan fiction, not high literature, but I do on occasion throw in some of the classic metaphorical elements. That is about all I'll say on the topic.

While I do not mean to shamelessly plug (this being the reason I mention it beforehand) I do feel this may have some value. A new fan fiction of mine should be appearing in conjunction with this one. Those of you who may have had complaints about the fighting style in this story may wish to read it. I take from your complaints that you like spelled out combat, which fits excellently with the Naruto universe. Understanding of Naruto is mostly irrelevant.

-

Walking back to Arena C, 18 glanced at both her paper and the clock nearby. There were still matches going on before Round 3 was scheduled to begin. They hadn't told her who she was going to fight, which probably meant the match was still going on. Glancing at the various arenas, 18 glimpsed another fight about to begin. Good.

As she got closer to the arena, she noticed who was fighting in this one. On the closer side of the ring stood a giant cat-like monster, but her eyes were drawn to the opposite side. Jayden stood motionless, only his cape gently fluttering in the wind. Sitting beside the arena, 18 waited for the match to start.

It wasn't long before the official signaled for the fight to begin, and the cat creature leaped forward immediately, claws unsheathing. Sparks flew as claws hit the stone tiles below, but Jayden was long gone. A swift kick sent the cat tumbling, and Jayden landed easily behind him. Righting itself, the creature charged and pounced, and this time Jayden ducked under the blow, then spun around, delivering another hard blow to the creature's jaw.

Instantly both of its arms crashed together, intending to crush him. Holding out a hand to either side, Jayden caught both paws, delivered a kick to the creature's face and jumped away. They faced off briefly again, and then the cat creature hurled some manner of knife toward Jayden. Most of those watching failed to understand what happened next, but 18 saw Jayden's fingers close around either side of the knife, turn the edge away from him, and send it careening into the pavement harmlessly.

With weapons having been used, Jayden took out what appeared to be a large, twisted ninja star on a long chain. Hurling it, Jayden nearly took off his opponent's head. The cat creature ducked barely in time and leaped back once again. Jerking the chain, Jayden pulled the blade back to himself and caught it, then swept once again. While the blade appeared to miss, it curved in air, wrapping the chain around his opponent.

Gathering energy slowly in one hand, Jayden fired a blast forward as he jerked his blade back. Off balance, the cat creature was hit directly and flung from the arena. Catching and returning his weapon, Jayden left the arena noiselessly. From her vantage point, 18 smiled. Not bad, really. It was amazing he had avoided the androids' destruction. A loudspeaker above blared a new message, and she listened with half an ear.

"We need a Juuhachigou and a Jayden in the northernmost arena. Match must begin within five minutes. Please report to the northern arena immediately."

So that was how it would be. Getting up, 18 tightened a hand slightly. This match promised to be far more interesting.

Turning his attention to another sphere, Dai Kioshin observed the match taking place below. A footstep called for his attention, and the greatest Kai turned, slightly annoyed. His apprentice carefully waded his way through the forest of crystals spheres that hovered around Dai Kioshin, each focused on a different match.

"Is this tournament really worth your attention, master?"

"You misunderstand. There has not been a concentration of power such as this for a long time now. Both the saiyan and the android are there."

"Ah. But why so much importance on a single planet?"

"Call it custom. I watch all of the greatest tournaments, and the one on Earth has continually drawn some of the strongest fighters. This time, I sense a dark ki somewhere, and it could be a great problem."

"A dark ki? What do you mean?"

Dai Kioshin gritted his teeth, slightly annoyed. "Something I have not felt in ages. A truly evil force. Whatever it may be, it is shielded, but I know it is at this tournament. Plus, he is there."

His apprentice remained silent, awed at exactly what that portended.

"Is... is that because of the dark ki?"

"Among other things." Dai Kioshin smiled coldly. Both turned to watch the current match. Little cosmic importance, and no major power being thrown around, but it passed time until some of the greater battles yet to come. Their silence was shortly shattered by a new arrival.

"I've got 5000 zeni on the saiyan."

The apprentice's head whirled, but Dai didn't even both looking.

"Go away Piccolo. There's important work going on here."

"I couldn't do that," the Namek smirked, settling into a cross-legged position. "You're the only person in fifteen planets who has a wide-screen viewing globe. Ooh, look, another match is about to start. This should be a good one."

"Shut up."

Infinitely below, two combatants stepped up to opposite sides of the arena. As the official began scribbling on his clipboard, both glanced at the other silently. Eventually Jayden smiled dryly.

"Of course, this would happen to me. I run into this match before I even reach the finals."

"You seem unconfident of yourself."

Jayden shook his head. "I can feel an insane amount of ki coming from your direction. Normally I'm not a naysayer, but I don't think I stand a chance. And don't try to make me feel better."

"Alright, I won't." 18 smoothed back a lock of hair. The attendant finally finished his writing on the clipboard and glanced up at them.

"Are both of you ready? Good! And... go!"

Instantly Jayden's smile vanished, replaced with an emotionless and deadly expression. He leaped forward, twisting to the side and springing off the ground at an unexpected angle. 18 admitted to herself that the move was a good one; it had taken her totally off guard, but Jayden wasn't fast enough to take advantage of that. Jumping, 18 avoided his attack and returned; her fist was barely deflected.

Rolling backwards, Jayden avoided any further attacks and came to his feet, throwing three ninja stars toward her. Deftly catching them between her fingers, 18 dropped the weapons and attacked, driving a knee into Jayden's stomach. He fell back, and barely flipped to his feet in time to avoid another assault.

18 could have finished the fight with that blow, but she wanted to win this battle with skill, not power. Besides, Jayden was the only one who was likely to be interesting. Only slightly wounded, Jayden backed away carefully. In one swift move he pulled his chain-blade and hurled it. Weaving to the side, 18 avoided the first swipe and jumped the second. The third she met head on, catching either side of the blade with her fingers and pulling. She wasn't disappointed, Jayden had let go of the chain. Momentum from her pull wrapped the chain around her.

Shattering the steel links, 18 caught his fist before it got closer to her face. Realizing how outmatched he was, Jayden pulled back before she could reverse the move. Attacking again, 18 was surprised when Jayden managed to pull off a relatively decent zanzoken before he hit the ground, arriving behind her. Whipping up a forearm behind her head, 18 deflected his attack, then spun to face him, blocking another strike.

Desperate, Jayden launched a quick and effective series of attacks toward her. While 18 found herself admiring the attack, it was woefully inadequate compared to what Goku had trained her for. Before she bothered to counterattack, Jayden broke off the strike, narrowly avoiding heavy damage to himself. Breathing heavily on the opposite side of the arena, he shook himself and then held up both of his hands in front of him. Energy gathered there, in a rapidly glowing orb. Launching the attack, Jayden covered his eyes from the brilliant explosion of light he knew was coming.

She honored his attack by raising her arms to defend against the blast. The light faded, with 18 unharmed and Jayden breathing heavily from his exertion. Scanning him quickly, 18 wondered if this was it for the battle. Jayden showed signs of serious fatigue in body and spirit, and didn't have any more tricks up his sleeve.

Closing his eyes briefly, Jayden gathered what remaining strength and ki he had and supported himself with it. He charged forward, and 18 did the same. They met in a clash of golden light that erupted in the arena, and then both fighters were out, landing on opposite sides. 18 brushed off a bit of dust, and Jayden struggled to rise to his feet once more. This time, he failed. Medics quickly swarmed around him, and it wasn't long before they carted him off. Painfully raising a hand, Jayden saluted her, and 18 responded in kind.

Again and again the blue tail swept, narrowly missing the weaving fighter below. One gigantic fist crunched 

down, only narrowly blocked by the fighter. In the next instant as he recovered from the impact, the tail flicked around, sending him across the arena.

Barely grabbing the arena floor and slowing himself down, the smaller warrior flipped to his feet, only to have a giant foot slam into him. Flying back, the warrior slammed against the edge of the arena floor, where he rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the next stomp that left cracks in the tile below. Laughing, the large, blue dinosaur monster attacked once again, nearly finishing his opponent once more. Ducking under a massive punch, the smaller fighter got in close and delivered a series of swift blows that sent the larger monster backward.

Goku detached himself from the wall he was leaning against to get a better vantage point. He was pretty sure what both fighters were trying to do, and their fighting styles were pretty obvious, but the winner wasn't certain. While the dinosaur creature was stronger, his opponent appeared to be a bit more skilled. However, Goku was relatively certain that Morai, the larger fighter, would win. 

Even so, he hadn't expected the next move that took place. As Morai staggered back, and his opponent rushed in to finish him off, the monster caught his balance, and reared his head back. Coming down, he spewed a stream of fire that engulfed his opponent. When the magma faded, the badly burned fighter was unconscious and out of the ring. Medics hit the scene immediately, and Morai raised a fist to the sky.

"Hah! Puny humans!"

Circling the arena, Goku stepped up on the opposite side. Morai's eyes narrowed instantly.

"Who are you?"

"Your opponent."

Morai glanced to the attendant, who looked down at his clipboard.

"Is your fighter code 67?"

"Yes."

"Then you are scheduled to fight next. In Arena B."

"There is no need," Morai turned to face him, grinning evilly, "I can take him down here and now!"

"Sir, that's a breach of th-"

Two grey eyes fixed themselves on the official below, who stopped in mid-sentence.

"It's alright," Goku broke the silence. "We can fight here."

"Well," the official coughed, "this is highly irregular, but I suppose it could be done. Very well. This is now officially a Round 3 match. Begin!"

There was a moment of silence, and then Goku saw the muscles in Morai's leg tense as he leapt forward. The match had begun.

There weren't any more scheduled matches until the finals began, and 18 thought most of the rounds were still going on. She couldn't find out where Goku was fighting currently, but he would meet her again when they gathered in the central arena, at the very latest. Now that most of the contestants were eliminated, the hallways were much emptier. A few tournament personal scurried around, and some of the losing fighters were still watching the matches going on.

Sounds drifted from a nearby arena, and 18 turned to look briefly. She already knew Goku wasn't involved, but maybe this fight would be interesting. True, both contestants had relatively little ki, but if they had made it this far, they should be at least potentially good.

Glancing through the door, 18 focused her senses on the two dueling in the center of the arena. It appeared the match was at its highest intensity, both of them going all out. One fighter was a Namek, and the other a younger girl. Still, the ki coming from both of them felt about equal, so the match probably fell to either luck or skill. She got little time to watch however, because the girl's foot barely clipped under the Namek's arm, sending him crashing backward and into the nearby wall. Sneering contemptuously, the girl stalked from the room.

At the doorway, their eyes met briefly, and the girl's expression shifted to one of confusion. She brushed aside a lock of black hair and squinted toward 18, but then shook herself and walked on without a word. 18 mentally raised an eyebrow and decided to see if she could figure out who the girl was. More importantly, why had she made a double-take while looking at her? Just then, 18 caught Goku's ki as it rose slightly, and she moved more in that direction. This situation could wait.

Back down the hallway, the girl shook her head again, trying to figure out what was going on. For an instant, she could have sworn she had known that face. But then again, that could be her subconscious talking. After the androids had killed her mother, she'd been seeing their faces everywhere. Shaking herself forcefully, the girl put the thought out of her mind. It probably didn't matter. Right now she needed to concentrate on winning the tournament.

Roaring, Morai charged directly toward him. Goku decided the move was more intending to intimidate than actually do much damage before he rolled to the side, easily avoiding the attack. Jumping into the air, Morai crashed down into the arena, making a small crater and sending shock waves out from the point of impact. Calmly levitating over the blast, Goku landed again, unharmed.

"Eh?" Morai grunted, eyes narrowing. "You're unhurt?"

"Go ahead. Give me the best you've got."

This time Morai spared no words or battle cries, but merely dove for him without warning. Jumping over the attack, Goku allowed the monster to plow into the arena before jumping off his head and to the opposite side once again. Getting up, now angered, Morai attacking viciously with all five of his limbs. Merely avoiding every attack thrown his way, Goku decided to see how long his opponent could go before tiring out.

About eight seconds, as things turned out. Slowly, Morai halted his attack, still having failed to touch a hair on Goku's body. Having no desire to end the fight, Goku kicking him lightly, but enough to do serious damage. Summoning all his strength, Morai held his ground and whipped his tail around in a swift strike. Catching the attack, Goku gave a sharp tug, sending Morai tumbling across the arena behind him.

Turning, Goku looked around in time to see Morai gathering his breath once again. The stream of fire flooded out toward him, and Goku raised a hand, allowing the flame to splash off the energy he generated around himself. Eventually the column of fire faded, and Goku responded in kind with by blowing a stream of ki fire. Scorched, Morai managed to stay within the arena.

"How...?" Morai coughed up dust and looked at him in disbelief. Goku moved closer.

"I have an idea. There's something I want to test out."

"What?" Morai's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Goku smiled.

"You get one shot of flame at me, point blank."

"Where's the catch?"

"None. Except if I can take the damage, you leave yourself completely open."

"No, I won't play these games, this i-"

Breaking off in mid-sentence, Morai launched the largest stream of fire that had yet been seen, surrounding Goku with a blazing inferno. If he had intended to take Goku by surprise, he succeeded. If he intended to do damage, he failed. Engulfed within the flames, Goku marveled as the fire wrapped around him. He had suspected that flames of such a low temperature couldn't actually damage. Now he knew.

Moving through the flame, Goku rapped Morai on the chin, sending him falling away and ending the stream of fire abruptly. Crashing into the ground, Morai raised dust around both of them. When at last it returned to the ground, Goku was revealed, standing above his defeated opponent.

"What now?" he asked the official viewing the match.

"You're in the Final 8. They'll all take place in the central arena. None of that begins for at least an hour. In the meantime you can go to the contestants room, which is in the west wing."

Nodding to him, Goku moved from the room. If his matches had been any indicator, this tournament would be a good one. First off, however, he needed to find 18.


	45. Episode XXXXIII: World Tournament

It would have been evil to set up a scenario with no twists whatsoever... but such was not the case. Don't hold your breath, but this will not be a simplistic tournament.

-

His search was not long. They met in the hallway a ways down. Almost in unison, they nodded to one another.

"How were your rounds?" Goku asked, as they both redirected themselves to the central arena.

"Not good. Very little competition. The last guy I fought was pretty good."

"I wouldn't expect much of that in the Preliminaries. Or from any normal person, for that matter."

"No, some of it really was pretty bad. Is it tradition for jerks to sign up for the tournament?"

Goku gave it a second's thought, "Yes. Always have, always will. By the time we reach the finals, however, the chaff should have been removed."

"That's a relief."

"Actually, someone always slips past somehow. I just hope I don't have to fight him."

"Yeah. How about you, though?"

"I was slightly impressed. Most of my fighters had something up their sleeves. Useless, but at least they weren't completely incompetent. If what I got was about average, this tournament shouldn't be bad at all."

"I can't compare my experience to any previous tournaments, of course."

"Right. Here we are, anyway."

In front of them the hallway linked back to the outside of the building, where they headed toward another entrance. This one was obviously the beginning of a garden, as the vine-covered archway showed. Walking to the entrance, Goku and 18 stopped by the large door, where a small portly man stopped them with an orange stick.

"This entrance is for finalists only, I-"

"We are finalists," Goku said in a voice not quite his own, becoming softer and more persuasive. The guard seemed confused, and quickly took their names and checked them with a list. Seeing that they had been cleared, he let them enter the area behind him. There was a stone pathway into the arena at the far side, with a grassy area around it for a short distance. Only six others were in the area now, all at various places.

Walking down to nearer the end, Goku and 18 took the time to size up the competition. Goku knew that something was bound to happen, and he fully expected the usual mix of contestants. He wasn't disappointed, either, as there were all types.

18 mentally checked off the contestants in her mind. The thug flexing in the corner was written off as the usual muscle-bound bruiser. Sitting in one corner was the young girl she had ran into before. This time, she didn't look up, but 18 made a note to ask Goku about her. Sitting so still he looked nearly dead was another hulking warrior, but 18 sensed a dark ki radiating from him. There was something more there than simple muscle.

"If you want incompetent," Goku whispered to her, "look in the northern corner."

Glancing over, 18 saw a sadly out-of-shape man dressed up in something that almost made her gag. A orange and green suit covered his body, and a large C was written across his chest. On his head was what appeared to be a giant fake chicken head. Looking at Goku, 18 wondered how he kept a completely straight face. Still, his eyes danced, and they enjoyed that instant. Finding their spot, 18 risked another look and saw the light purple cape, this time she had to look away to keep from vomiting.

"How could he have finished the Preliminaries?"

"I don't have it from a very good source, but I hear he bribed his way into this position."

"That makes more sense. Most of even the fighters I met could have taken him apart."

All the rest of the contestants appeared to be looking the others over as well. Something caught Goku's eye, and he focused on the opposite corner. Most interesting.

"We have a few who look strong," Goku said softly, "especially those two off under the eaves."

Directing her attention that way, 18 saw two people at the same time. Barely more than a silhouette, a warrior stood in what appeared to be a suit of armor, the surface of which seemed to conform around him. Obviously not from this planet. But even stranger was the other one, who sat, legs folded, hovering above the ground. Purple skin and lighter purple hair set him apart, and his garb didn't help either. There was a large amount of energy coming from his direction, and it appeared that he was hiding at least some of it.

"Very interesting."

"I'm guessed they'll be the competition. Either that or the big guy over on the other side." 

"Who's that girl?" 18 asked, gesturing back to her. Goku glanced over where she indicated and nodded.

"Hercule's daughter, Videl. Don't know much about her, but if she inherited her father's genes, we can't expect much of a challenge there."

As if he felt their eyes on him, the purple-skinned warrior got up and walked over to them quickly and purposefully. Goku stood up to meet him.

"Hello," the stranger's voice was melodic and soft, "my name is Shin."

"Glad to meet you," Goku answered just as politely. Shin nodded.

"I could not help but notice the magical shield the two of you are surrounded by. I do not wish to pierce it now, so I fear I must ask, why do you have need of hiding your identities?"

Goku shrugged and muttered a few words. Shin's eyes seemed to blur, and then he looked at them again, very closely. With the illusion taken from his eyes, he could see who they were quite clearly. Sighing slightly, Goku felt the strain of holding the spell lessen slightly.

"I see. You must be the ones I have heard something about. Goku and 18."

Nodding, Goku shook his offered hand. Shin smiled a dark little smile, wished them good day and left back to his spot, where he sat motionless once more. 18 watched him go and glanced at Goku. He shrugged.

"There's something different about that guy. I should know who he is, but I just can't put my finger on it..."

"Strange guy. I don't trust him."

"I don't think we'll have a problem," Goku answered. "I don't think anyone has ever killed another person in the tournament, the rules and tradition are too strong. Still, he should be a contender."

They continued talking quietly in the corner, until eventually another official opened a door and called them all over. Getting up, they went over with the six others to listen.

"It is almost time," he told them, "and I apologize for a slight change in schedule. I assure you, however, that this will have no impact on the tournament itself, which will take place as before. Please follow me."

As they walked down a hallway, the official explained this to them.

"They have a new system of measuring power that they are testing this year. Ideally in the future this could be how they decide which warriors get into the tournament itself. But for this year they are merely giving it a trial run, and they'll use it to decide in what order you draw for positions in the tournament."

Opening another door, he ushered them into the stadium itself. People packed the stadium surrounding them, and Goku was slightly surprised. Even with the population so decreased they were still sold out. At first the strain of the spell jumped intensely, as he was forced to shield them from so many more eyes. Shrugging past that, Goku concentrated on his surroundings. This arena outshone those of the past, but gave a definite nod to the tournaments of the past. In the center of the newly built arena itself was a large, round cylinder. The official quickly gave them instructions.

"Just hit the bag for about 10 seconds. It will then judge your strength, which will be displayed on the board above. The highest score will get to draw for their position first."

The man in the garish costume stepped up first and made peace signs to the crowd with both hands.

"The first contestant- Captain Chicken!"

Rushing to the punching bag, he hit it with all his might. A second later he stumbled back, clutching his hand. Kicking and hitting in a frenzy, he continually bashed the bag, each blow not even denting the surface. When the timer rang he collapsed on the ground, breathing heavily. The scoreboard lit up with a large white 0. Booing and hissing, the crowd waited for the next contestant to step up.

"The second contestant- Mafu!"

This time the large musclebound man stepped forward. He roared to the crowd so loudly that for a second they were all stunned. Then he turned to the bag and punched it head on. It shook and was knocked a few feet away. Running up to it again, he slammed it with both hands, then before it flew very far, hit it straight down. Landing with a loud thump, the scoreboard rang up a 67.

Having nothing to gauge by except the complete failure before, Goku and 18 weren't sure what to make of it. Shrugging, they saw Videl step up to the podium and be announced. The entire crowd cheered wildly as she was announced, and then she turned to the bag, which had been set up properly again.

Hercule watched from the highest box above as his daughter prepared to attack the bag. Sweat was pouring down his face, but it had nothing to do with the heat. A 67! That was an awesome score! He didn't know anyone could produce such results! Before, in private, luckily, he had tried to beat on the bag himself- and his score had only been an 11. Merely getting that score had taken a lot out of him.

"This new guy is really strong," he muttered. "Videl could have a hard time beating him!"

A crack sounded as Videl karate chopped the bag, sending it flying. Jumping to it again, she launched a flurry of blows that pummeled it from all angles. At the last second before her time expired, she uppercutted the bag with her full strength, and it gained a few seconds of hang time before hitting the ground again.

The scoreboard gleamed 122, and Hercule was even more amazed. "That's my daughter," he chuckled. Still, he wondered if there had been some sort of cheating going on. He should have scored a lot higher than an 11. Maybe he had softened it up for them, or they must be using an easier punching bag.

"Yeah, that's it," he rationalized. "On this one, I'd get at least a 400!"

18 felt rather than saw the dark ki step up as well. The hulking mass of muscle didn't say anything, just waited for the signal to begin.

"The fourth contestant, Suppopovitch!"

Roaring loudly, Suppopovitch didn't move for a second. 18 realized on the center of his forehead there was a large M written in black. Something about that disturbed her deeply, and it was even more troubling that she didn't know why. A second later, he jumped into the air and came down on the bag, knocking it to the ground. Kicking it, he sent it falling to the ground a ways away.

Jumping on top, he began stomping on the bag, then just got down and started beating on it with his full strength. Even after the buzzer sounded, he kept hitting it. A few seconds passed before he calmed down and got off the bag, still growling slightly. The crowds cheered as they saw a magnificent 374 light up on the screen. Goku and 18 looked at each other, eyebrows raised slightly.

Next up the armored man jumped to the arena, landed softly and waited for his name to be called out.

"Our next fighter asks to remain anonymous, but will go by the name of Saiyan Hunter!"

The crowd let out a huge cheer, as did a few of the contestants. Goku sighed slightly and folded his arms. 18 shook her head and Goku gave her a sad smile. The instant the time began, the saiyan hunter extended a hand toward the bag. His armor seemed to spring to life, it moved out and wrapped around the bag, then drew it back to him where his fist slammed into it. Instantly on the other side, he pounded it down. As it fell, he fell with it, a laser knife extending from one hand and hitting the bag innumerable times.

As he landed the time expired and a 250 appeared on the board. The crowd went wild and Goku found himself wondering where he got that suit of armor. Not that he was sure, but he thought he saw a missile launcher in the other arm. Unless they had changed the rules on him, there shouldn't have been any weapons, but no one seemed to care. Shrugging, Goku continued waiting.

"Our next contestant- Kakkarrot!"

That was his signal to step up. He still thought that was a good idea, and it appeared that no one recognized it as a saiyan name. Stepping up to the bag, Goku waited until the time began. From the other fighters he wasn't sure how strong the bag was, but it seemed to be fairly weak. Was it as weak as he thought it was? There was only one way to find out. The instant the timer began he moved to the bag, hand curling into a flicking position. Tapping it lightly with his index finger, he got an instant reaction.

Speeding across the arena and striking the opposite wall before sliding to the ground, the bag fell and a score of a flat 1000 rang up on the board. Goku was struggling with a cross between amused and disgusted. A hush fell over the entire crowd for a second as he walked back to his position.

"Was it difficult? How much power did you use?" 18 asked him. Goku stroked her hair then smiled wryly.

"I just used more power in doing that than I did on the bag. I was holding almost all my energy in and I still topped everything."

18 gritted her teeth, "so it's pretty much worthless."

"Yeah."

"I'm not going to submit to such a weak standard," 18 looked decidedly annoyed. Shin stepped up and was announced next, and both of them carefully watched to see what he would do. He jumped at the same time as the starting bell rang, almost as if he knew when it would sound. His first blow sent it flying into the air, he matched pace with it and struck it down.

Appearing behind the bag, he hit it again, and continued the time with a series of swift, clean moves. Shin smirked as he looked at the 200 that was shone on the board. Walking off, he gave them all a superior glance. Goku knew that he wasn't using his full power, that had been a show to deceive everyone. So this Shin was a schemer too; Goku couldn't wait to face him.

"The last contestant, Juuhachigou!"

Most had no idea what her name truly meant, but Shin nodded to them, seemingly in appreciation. Goku nodded to 18, who stepped up next to the bag, which was still looking fine. In only a few seconds, the dents in it filled out and the bag was as it had been before. Soon after, the bell sounded.

The first instant, 18 flitted forward and sliced diagonally across the bag. At first it seemed nothing had happened, charged energy tensing the air, and then the bag slowly slid apart, cleanly sliced in two pieces. The board flashed all 8s, then sizzled and went completely blank. 18 smirked and moved back, and everyone seemed a bit in shock.

"Well," the announcer was visibly shaken, "we will begin the drawing for placement in order of the tournament in a few minutes when things are set up. Remember that the concession stands are in the lower right and left corners. In just a moment, we'll be bringing you more of the worlds best fighting! Thank you!"

After the official led them back into the waiting room again, the contestants milled around just outside the arena itself for a while, and Goku soon found himself sought out by Shin, who made a beeline toward him at his first opportunity. Goku turned to face him and raised one eyebrow. Shin smiled politely, but he didn't seem as smug as before.

"Why did you hold in so much power?" Goku asked, deciding to speak first.

"There is no need for anyone here to know my strength before the due time," Shin told him, "and I must say I did not expect anyone here to be even as strong as they proved here. Still, you and 18 might both prove to be potential challenges to me."

"You seem sure of yourself," Goku said quietly; Shin shook his head.

"Not at all. The amount of mental training the average person has here is above average. Mind-reading is difficult and I can't pierce your mental barriers."

"So you've been trying to read my mind?"

"Yes, but I am having trouble. I can't read 18's mind either, but I sensed another presence in the way."

"That would be me."

"Ah," Shin nodded, and for a second they were silent. "You will most likely have to fight her, you know."

Nodding, Goku responded simply, "she could well be placed second."

"If not for me," Shin responded, smiling slightly. "But you will almost certainly have to fight her before the final round."

"Not necessarily. They decide the order by chance."

"But the chances of any two given individuals not meeting each other before the championship is unlikely, at best."

Goku merely smiled, not answering. The uncomfortable silence was broken as a bell indicated it was finally time for them to enter the arena again and select positions in the tournament charts. This time a large board had been placed with the tournament lineup on it. Before it sat a box. Coughing slightly, the announcer waited to get everyone's attention before speaking.

"Ahem, due to destruction of the testing bag, Juuhachigou will draw first."

Stepping forward, 18 stuck her hand into the box and pulled out a green ball. Shin shot Goku a cocky glance that was returned with even more force as she showed number one. Edging through the other contestants, Shin got next to Goku and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Very good," Shin said, "but it means nothing. There is still only a small chance you will pick the ball that won't pit the two of you together."

"We will see" was all Goku said.

Shin watched Goku walk to the box. He smiled to himself, there was no way that they wouldn't meet together before the final. The chances were low, and in any case, Shin had taken no chances. Goku thought he was playing fairly; he never suspected anyone would bend the rules, much less reality. This would certainly serve to shake him up a little, as well as being proof of his influence. Some would argue it was a waste of his power, but Shin believed the psychological edge was enough.

His mental images were shattered as Goku held the green ball out toward him, displaying a number seven. Shin was severely surprised, though his face betrayed no emotion. How was that possible? His power should have made it impossible for Goku to draw a seven or an eight, but he had already done so. Something about him seemed to make the impossible possible.

Storming inwardly as the remaining numbers were chosen, Shin quickly picked his and left to the contestant's box. He was disgusted with this whole thing. His only comfort was the fact that he would beat all of them when it came to the actual tournament. Ignorant mortals.

-

I feel somewhat like typical DBZ... an entire chapter passes and we still haven't gotten to the main event. Trust me, however, I'm not just attempting to stretch the events out a long time. Quite the opposite. The first four matches are all contained within the next chapter.


	46. Episode XXXXIV: World Tournament

I seem to have been confused about which chapter we were currently running, which amounted for the delay this week. This should be the next chronologically, and should cover all four of the first round matches of the tournament. Later matches will take up more time, I merely see no reason to overextend these matches, most of which are very mismatched.

An interesting thought... I had never considered the fact that Shin's view of mortals is more or less justified. Interesting. In all honesty, I cannot say that I blame him either.

-

18 and Goku watched carefully from the contestant's box. The first fight was one that they could have predicted the outcome of with their eyes closed. As the contestants entered the ring, the crowds calmed down for an instant before wildly cheering for whoever they wanted to win. Both of them remained silent, as this fight consisted of Videl and Captain Chicken.

"Captain Chicken is the long-beloved super hero of the city," the announcer told the crowd. "But he is facing the untested daughter of Hercule, Videl! Who will win this fight? Let's cut to the chase and begin the round!"

A pain lanced through his forehead, and Goku rubbed it. Casting a spell over that many people was wearing him out mentally. He needed a break, but that wouldn't come for some time yet. Settling back, Goku waited for what he hoped would be an amusing match. Captain Chicken was just as incompetent as he had hoped for. In his first charge, he tripped and fell to the ground. Videl seemed a bit surprised, and didn't take advantage of the situation. Struggling to his feet, Captain Chicken ran forward again, but it could have been described as more of a waddle.

There was no chance of him connecting. Videl darted out of the way with about the fastest speed you could achieve without using ki. Grabbing his cape, she hurled him across the arena, and he landed just barely within the ring. As Videl went over to push him out, she discovered he had already been knocked unconscious by the short fall. The crowds cheered wildly as Videl triumphantly left the ring.

"I'm next," Goku told 18 as he stood. She nodded and he quickly moved out to the ring. From the opposite side of the arena stepped his opponent, the dubiously named saiyan hunter. The two of them stepped into the ring, eyeing one another carefully. Goku was a bit surprised that they allowed him to wear that armor, as it was most likely a weapon in and of itself. Still, the rules seemed to have changed. Feeling his opponent, Goku was mildly surprised at his strength, considerable for his particular race.

The instant the fight began, the saiyan hunter began to charge, but he stopped and gawked. Goku was puzzled, and looked at him oddly. What had he been so surprised at? A second later, he found out exactly what it was.

"You," the saiyan hunter hissed softly. "I know you. Saiyan! I knew you were here, and I've found you at last!"

Surprised that the saiyan hunter knew who he was, Goku rechecked the spell and found that it had slipped up enough to cause a disturbance. Apparently this saiyan hunter hated saiyans enough that he was able to pierce the illusion and see who he really was. Ignoring him a while, Goku reconfigured the spell to exclude the hunter, there was no point in keeping that up now that he knew.

"It is my lifelong mission to kill you," his opponent hissed, eyes blazing with unnatural fury. "It was you saiyans who eradicated so many planets! Well, the victims of your crimes have gotten together, and we will have our revenge! I am the ultimate instrument of our vengeance, and I will destroy you! With every part of your life I take from you, think of the thousands of lives you destroyed!"

The crowds were murmuring angrily, they had wanted to see a fight, not two people arguing so far below that words were inaudible. A second later, they got what they had asked for. As he flew forward, the saiyan hunter's fist barely missed Goku's head. They clashed in a flurry of movement, Goku calmly dodging everything that was thrown at him. It really wasn't difficult. The saiyan hunter may have been strong enough to kill most saiyans, maybe even some Super Saiyans, but Goku had gone beyond a normal saiyan.

"Listen," he said, ducking a right cross. "You don't have to hate this much. I didn't destroy all those planets."

"Murderer!" his opponent dropped away, then dove at him again. Flipping backward, Goku saw several chances to strike his opponent, but didn't take them. Pounding him right now might have been seen as a vindication of the saiyan hunter's point.

"The saiyans are dead," Goku told him, "your revenge has already been carried out. If you think you'll find closure in the death of those who destroyed your planets, it's already come to pass."

"No," his opponent's breath was a hiss. "You will be destroyed. I think you lie, dog, but even if you speak the truth, every one of your kind will be eliminated!"

Dodging to the side of another kick, Goku found himself in an unexpected bind. How could he win the match while showing his opponent that he wasn't the bloodthirsty murder that the saiyan hunter assumed he was? Thinking on it, Goku realized he didn't have to dodge any more blows, as they weren't coming. He focused his attention on his opponent, who was standing on the other side of the ring.

As his attention was diverted, the saiyan hunter was instantly near him, slashing at his chest with a blade seemingly made from a laser. Glancing at it in the split second before it hit him, Goku decided it wasn't a threat and let it connect. The blade bounced off him, and the saiyan hunter immediately attacked again.

Slicing and slashing a furious storm, the saiyan hunter soon dropped back and was surprised to see Goku still perfectly fine, brushing a bit of dust off his unscathed gi. The saiyan hunter bounded backward and floated up into the air, Goku floated up as well to buy more time.

An idea came to him almost instantly. He was fairly sure that he had figured out how the Namekiian telepathy worked, but the only person he could contact yet was 18. Still, that was the only person he needed to talk with, either. Working to open the link, his attention was diverted as his opponent began to shine brightly. The surface of his armor writhed and then tentacles of metal shot out toward him. Slightly puzzled, Goku didn't bother to dodge and was soon wrapped up in a mass of metal.

The saiyan hunter laughed bitterly and then flipped a switch on his suit. Instantly sparks began to fly from the tentacles, and they grew white hot in a glow that spread down to Goku. Electricity danced along it and toward him. But when the energy met his skin, the electricity either was absorbed into him or reflected back along the tentacles. While only a fraction of the original was reflected, the saiyan hunter was still blasted toward the ground by the sheer electrical voltage that came back into his body. 

Flexing, Goku snapped the metal apart, breaking it from his body in an explosion of shrapnel. The metal retreated back into the armor once again, like a living thing, and the saiyan hunter barely kept floating in the air. Goku still looked unharmed, but now electricity danced around his body in spurts, sometimes arcing from him but always staying close. He grinned. This was interesting, he hadn't even tried to block the electricity consciously.

"I will destroy you!" The saiyan hunter laughed again. He began powering up, and Goku let him. As long as it wasted enough time for him to establish a telepathic link. It didn't take long, and then 18's consciousness was there, alongside his. Goku sent out a tendril of himself and got an immediate response.

If I were you, I'd just take him out now.

But I can't do that, Goku insisted, I'll just prove his point.

I don't see why you should care about that, but in any case it doesn't matter. All you have to do is knock him from the ring. You know there's nothing wrong with a friendly fight.

Goku shook his head. Overlooking the obvious again, Thanks for reminding me, even the most civilized of us need a bit of chaos to even things out.

Yeah sure, anytime. The whole electricity thing is pretty interesting, by the way.

Indeed, but I have to go now.

Just then a yellow flash burst out and something flew toward Goku from the saiyan hunter. His mind instantly began working on what had happened. Collecting from the evidence, it didn't take long to figure out. The saiyan hunter was transformed entirely into a yellow acid, and he had dove toward Goku. The true question was what he could possibly intend to accomplish with the unorthodox attack.

For an instant the yellow liquid covered him, and then it seeped down into his pores. Goku searched inside himself to try and figure out what was going on, but then there seemed to be an explosion, and Goku had to brace himself against a time-space rip that suddenly echoed throughout his mind. Recovering from that, Goku found the saiyan hunter, in material form again, looking at him, extremely shocked.

"No," he gasped. "It isn't possible. You should be dead!"

"What was that? Could you clarify?" Goku asked him. The saiyan hunter glared at him.

"That is the ultimate finishing attack. I transform into acid, enter my foe's body, then reform, killing them. But somehow, saiyan, you've survived. Which just means that I have to kill you another way."

Silently congratulating him on the stroke of genius, Goku decided to end the match soon. His opponent fired off two missiles from guns concealed in his hands. For an instant Goku smirked because they were too far off course to hit him. He realized the next second that they would strike the stands and immediately made sure he got in the way. As the explosion and dust cleared, he found himself staring at a horrified saiyan hunter.

Jumping forward, Goku kneed his opponent in the stomach, sending him flying. Speeding over him as he flew across the edge of the arena, Goku kicked him straight downward, where he struck the ground and was removed from the tournament. The announcer called out his victory to the crowd as he walked back to the contestant's box. Needless to say, the crowd no longer complained about lack of a fight.

Suddenly someone hit Goku in the back. He turned, but by that time he was already forced into the air above the stadium. The saiyan hunter held him in a full nelson, which Goku easily twisted out of. They faced off a second, the saiyan hunter seething with hatred and rage.

"You've beaten me," he roared, "but I will make sure that you do not destroy anyone else!"

"Please," Goku told him, "you don't need to-"

He never got to finish his sentence, as the saiyan hunter dove for him, and then exploded in a fiery conflagration that lit up the entire sky. A mushroom cloud of smoke drifted down into the eyes of the crowd. When the dust had cleared, however, Goku still hovered in the sky, untouched. Drifting down and ignoring the shocked expressions, he sat back down beside 18 and waited for the next round.

It was longer in coming than normal, especially because of the entire last round. Almost every year something odd happened in the tournament, but rarely did anyone commit suicide. Goku's display of power had impressed a few people as well and the odds could be seen changing at the betting tables. As the arena had been highly damaged, work crews quickly rushed out to make it an even battlefield again.

As soon as the next round was called, 18 entered the ring easily and waited for her opponent. A loud thump shook the arena as Mafu jumped in, roaring. 18 casually watched him. Nothing serious, she'd seen stronger humans during her two years of destruction. As the announcer talked briefly, she ignored him and mentally assessed her opponent's weaknesses. Not enough power, far too little speed. He had bulked up to the point that it restricted his movement, a mistake humans often made. The final diagnostic: pushover.

The bell sounded, and 18 prepared for his first leap. Showing more self-control than she had expected, he began to speak instead.

"I wouldn't want to hurt you," he rumbled. "Give up now and this ends peacefully."

"Do you want to attack first, or are you going to let me?"

"Mafu would never attack a helpless woman."

"Would Mafu like everyone to think he was afraid of a fight?"

Roaring, he somewhat clumsily charged at her. Jumping, she cleared him easily and landed as he teetered on the edge of the ring. Turning, he ran for her again. Deciding to end it all now, she didn't try to dodge this blow. Holding out one hand, she caught him in midair, completely stopping his momentum. Knuckling him under the chin, she sent him flying out of the ring, creating a small crater where he landed.

Getting to his feet slowly, Mafu stared daggers at her.

"I will have my revenge!" he called, but he went back into the contestant's booth calmly enough. Moving back to her spot, 18 sat beside Goku again. He nodded to her, indicating he approved of her handling of the last match. Soon, the last match of round one began and they waited for the next contestants.

"This match is between the two most mysterious competitors in this tournament, Shin and Suppopovitch! They've proved their strength in the test, and now they'll see which is the stronger in the ring!"

Both of them walked up to the ring side by side, as if unwilling to allow the other to enter first. A glare of barely masked hatred shot between them. Goku puzzled over that a second, but couldn't think why they should even have met each other, much less hate each other. They both quickly took their places in the arena and then waited for the announcer to call for the match to begin.

In an instant both contestants flew forward, clashing in the center. Both fell back, but Shin recovered sooner and knocked Suppopovitch backward. They recovered their footing and watched each other warily. Moving quickly enough to take Suppopovitch off guard, Shin leaped forward and elbowed his opponent in the chest, then struck his head with a roundhouse kick that sent him stumbling back across the arena.

Suppopovitch seemed to be dead, but then got to his feet slowly. He leaped again, but the Kioshin evaded the blow, following up with another kick. Getting up, Suppopovitch attacked again, and this time they met in a flurry of quick strikes. Eventually Shin got a fist through and knocked his opponent backward. Things seemed over for Suppopovitch, but he somehow managed to get to his feet again.

The next time they clashed, it was Shin's defense that failed and he hurtled backward, barely landing within the ring. Suppopovitch leaped forward and attempted to stomp his head, but Shin was gone and above him. A second later he hammered him across the ring again.

Now as Suppopovitch got up, his energy seemed drained. Goku was impressed with his recuperative powers, but it was obvious the amount of damage he had coming his way was too much. Apparently Suppopovitch did as well, for he didn't attack again. Shin wiped blood off his lip and folded his arms, calmly waiting. Before they could begin to fight again, Suppopovitch pulled from his back a tiny orb that suddenly expanded in size to a large brass lamp. Holding it out before him and chanting something, Suppopovitch was discolored in a green glow from the lamp, which seemed to shine from a strange source of power.

There were four responses to this, all varied. Most bystanders had no idea what was going on and were curious about it. The announcer was frantically yelling that such a weapon violated the tournament rules and that Shin would win the match by default. Goku cringed at a wave of decidedly evil energy coming from the lamp. Shin himself staggered and fell to his knees.

Observing more carefully, Goku found that energy was sapping from Shin and into the lamp. Looking inside it, Goku found it awash with the energy of hundreds of beings. Why would anyone take energy from so many people? Why would anyone need that much in the first place?

Shin appeared to be getting weaker, but, summoning strength from somewhere, he threw his head up in defiance and charged. His blow hit Suppopovitch directly in the jaw, and sent his opponent flying across the arena and through the wall. The glow from the lamp vanished, but Shin appeared to be severely drained.

There was a second of silence, and then pandemonium reigned across the stadium. 

"Shin has won, both on account of his opponent being disqualified and his being removed from the ring!" the announcer was barely heard above the crowd, but Shin nodded and left the ring. Goku and 18 flew down to meet him immediately.

"What was that?" Goku asked. Shin seemed to look him over, as if considering his answer.

"An incredible evil, something I do not know. Whatever it is, it collects vast amounts of energy from other beings. Even now, my energy is down to about half of what it was."

"Do you know what caused it?"

"A spell of some sort, but it was cast on the lamp itself, by whom I am not certain. It will take me around ten minutes to return to full power. I have no idea what manner of problem this is. However, I suggest we find out soon."

"What can we do?" 18 asked. "We can't kill him in the tournament without getting disqualified."

"Nothing," Shin said bitterly. "I will try and trace him. Where is he now?"

They all looked and saw the huge figure limping away in the distance, the lamp now back to its original size, but they could still sense the energy from within. Gritting his teeth, Goku resigned himself to solve that problem later. All three returned to their places just as order began to be restored in the arena. The announcer came back out into the open and brought the crowd to a murmur.

"In the last match, Suppopovitch cheated by using an illegal foreign object in the ring. Shin has won the match, and will be the last of the four qualifying contestants. It appears that Suppopovitch has left the area and will not return. There are only 3 matches left, folks, but they'll be the best yet! For now, we'll have fifteen minutes of a break to allow all the contestants time to recover, and then we'll move on with our lineup. First match is Kakkarrot versus Shin! See you in fifteen!"

Everyone got up and left the arena, except a few who didn't want to give up their seats. The contestants, minus Suppopovitch and the saiyan hunter, went back into the garden again for the time. Shin sat down cross-legged and began meditating a few feet off of the ground. Some of the other contestants began talking with each other, the ones who had lost bitterly wishing they had done better. Looking around, 18 realized that she didn't see Mafu anywhere. A dark wind began to blow...


	47. Episode XXXXV: World Tournament

As to Videl... I think that I will allow you to see what happens in the situation. Rest assured that she actually plays a minuscule but significant role, but I will remain vague as to any details.

In regard to the tournament bracketing: you are correct (though your image did not appear properly), and I am uncertain as to what my logical could possibly have been at the time. Keep in mind I am several years separated from the genesis of said facts. Though I would like to say that I have an interesting and unique tournament method, such is not the case. I am somewhat curious as to where I pulled that from.

-

Leaning against a wall, Goku rubbed his temples. He wasn't sure how long he could continue to keep up a complete cover for both of them. The fact that the saiyan hunter had been able to pierce the illusion worried him. How many had enough hate to do this same? For a while, the adrenalin rush had staved off the drain of the spell, but he was feeling it again.

Shin was beside him then, but Goku didn't open his eyes.

"I don't think you can keep that sort of thing up," Shin told him frankly. "That sort of spell was never meant for such a large area."

"Do you have a better idea?" Goku winced, but the fatigue seemed to be fading.

"Of course," Shin sniffed, "I have a number of spells that would do much better."

"Mind helping me out here?"

"The likes of you mere mortals won't touch spells of that potency."

"So what, you mention it to me for the sole purpose of annoying me?"

"Nonsense. However, when we meet in our match, you'll see how powerful I really am. Perhaps then you'll learn a bit of respect."

"Whatever. Do you know why anyone would need energy of the sort Suppopvitch was gathering?"

"I have an idea." Shin smiled slightly again. "And I deign to share it with you."

"Oh thank you, omnipotent one." Shin glared at him, but continued.

"They must be trying to resurrect warriors from the Afterlife, and quite a few."

"Doh!" Goku slapped his forehead, "I can't believe I didn't see that. They'd need energy of the sort to break the bonds of this world and the Afterlife. But who would want that? Especially on such a grand scale?"

"I know not," Shin said mystically. "But I have not felt a power that evil in ages. I remember nothing that can compare to what I have felt here."

"Nothing?" Goku asked, feeling something beyond Shin's words.

Before he could speak further, Shin walked away from him. Goku noticed that his confidence seemed to be back again; the fight must have mentally rejuvenated him. Shrugging off the weariness, Goku sat down and began meditating. The training cleared his mind and helped push away the negative affects of holding the spell. Breathing deeply, he continued the exercise, losing himself in it.

Wiping his face with a towel again, the announcer sighed heavily and shook his head. Everything seemed bound and determined to go crazy this tournament. After having insane rule violations, and a suicide, he didn't think much else could surprise him. Then again, he never thought he could be surprised before this tournament, either. Sipping the drink in front of him, he leaned back in his chair. Whatever the cause or effect, this was going to sell like wildfire.

18 walked softly through a courtyard beside the room where the others were. She needed to get away for a while, Goku was straining to hold up the spell and the others were being noisy. While she didn't really like plants, it was purifying in a way to look at the vines growing here. Untainted by all the evil that flowed from all normal people. There weren't many things that weren't drenched in it, and it was a relief to find some things that were clean. Back at their house things had been entirely clear, as Goku seemed to rub off on most objects. Here, however, the whole world was practically black with the hatred.

"Now you die!"

Turning, 18 saw who she already knew it was. Even without ki sensing it was obvious; there was only one person who wanted her to die right now. Mafu stood, seething, blocking the entrance of the way back. Rage was collected in his eyes, directing pure malice her way. She said nothing.

"I won't allow myself to be humiliated like that!" he hissed, "and I'll settle the score now! Time to die!"

As he dove for her, 18 easily got out of the way. Even as he staggered to a halt and turned, she was calmly waiting for him, standing a few yards away.

"Would you really kill a competitor?"

"This is no tournament match," he growled, "and I'm already out of the tournament. Die!"

The second charge was no different than the first, both in technique and in effectiveness.

"No woman defeats Mafu!" The third charge was boringly predictable. This was the sort of idiot 18 never had qualms about killing during Gero's two-year rampage. But now, Goku wouldn't approve if she kill him outright. Still, he did understand that there was a line.

"I wouldn't suggest attacking me again," 18 said as he turned toward her.

"Ha! Do you threaten me?"

"Don't take a step. Take this as a warning, you will regret attacking again."

"Die!"

Mafu charged again, and this time 18 had no intention of getting out of the way. Ducking the wild punch headed her way, she hammered him directly in the chest with her full power. The blow went entirely through him, and Mafu seemed to gape a second before collapsing to the ground as she removed her fist. Gathering a small aura, 18 cleaned her arm, and when she looked up she saw Goku perched atop the nearby wall.

Jumping down silently, he landed beside her. She looked at him questioningly, but he shook his head.

"You gave him a chance, that's all I can ask," holding out one hand, he cleaned away the body with a small blast, leaving nothing behind. For a second they were silent, just allowing thoughts to flow.

"Are you feeling better?"

"Well enough," he nodded. "The strain comes and goes. I think I've spread it out so the spell won't fail, but as a whole it is fairly weak. Anyone with enough will could probably pierce through the illusion. I'll be alright."

They both touched palms for a while, allowing their consciousnesses to merge together. Goku hugged her and both their eyes blazed brightly for a second. When it was two against the world, you found peace where you could.

In the middle of a nondescript plain, outside the city, a large dome stood, defiant against the otherwise unbroken skyline. The entire thing was all a light brown color, except two large doors on one side. Engraved above them was a large M in black. It was beneath this emblem that the one living creature in the area stood, looking at the structure.

He resembled an insect, with large bug eyes and two antenna. His skin was dark brown and heavily wrinkled, and it added to a strange picture. Standing only a few feet tall, and dressed in a strange white robe, a strange sense of danger still surrounded him. An M was also on his robe, identical to the one above the door. Few would have recognized him, but the few who would would have been filled with fear.

Babidi was the greatest sorcerer in the known galaxy, and he seemed bent on controlling everything he set his eyes on. No one could say why he made the trip across from the East Galaxy to here, but there were few who wanted to know.

Had they known his intentions, they would have been even more fearful. Babidi wanted nothing less than to release Evil in a controlled form and use it to take over all four parts of the galaxy. In his studies, he had discovered that evil had long since been locked away, but only just barely.

Walking inside, Babidi inspected the operation, glancing around at everything. Circular orbs lined all the walls of the top floor, all glowing with a green light. Checking to make sure they were absorbing the world's energy as they should, Babidi went to the large green pillar of light in the center of the room. It stemmed and ended in two metal circles, but nothing was inside it. Glancing at the bottom, Babidi nodded. The small gauge on one side had barely any green showing on it. But it was slowly growing, and when it reached full, his plan would set into motion.

"This will take years to gain this much energy," he complained to himself in a whining voice. "Do they honestly expect me to wait years?"

Not that he ever considered that for even an instant. No, he had a backup plan to make things go much faster. Already his two servants were out in this world, absorbing energy from its inhabitants. This planet was ripe with evil energy, everyone seemed to be overflowing with it. Even if they weren't drained, the evilness of their energy helped his cause. He had no doubt that he'd fill the meter very soon.

Just then the spell he'd set around the dome went off, indicating someone on the perimeters. Recognizing Yamoo, one of his servants, Babidi allowed him inside. It wasn't long before he was there with him, holding a large lamp, glowing with a brilliant green light.

"Very good, very good," Babidi cooed. "You've done well. Do you know where Suppopovitch is?"

"He went to the tournament," Yamoo answered tonelessly. "I have not seen him."

"Well, we can wait."

Taking the lamp, Babidi hooked it up with the bottom metal ring to the pillar of light. The lamp drained and the pillar glowed brighter. The small gauge on the side increased by a large section. Babidi smiled and handed the now dull lamp back to Yamoo.

"My power has reached 20%. For every ounce of power that I add here, the power I have granted you will also increase. Go out again and gather more energy."

Yamoo fingered the black M on his forehead, and for an instant it glowed with a green light. Seemingly rejuvenated, Yamoo leaped from the room and was soon flying off again to get more energy. Babidi smirked as he left. While they were both good servants, the ultimate Evil would be so much stronger than them that even with a 100% power boost added to their strength, they would be nothing. He hadn't decided whether or not to dispose of them then or not.

"You're doing well," a voice suddenly came from behind him. Spinning around, Babidi saw Dai Kioshin standing there. From his wealth of knowledge, Babidi recognized him, but why was he here? How had he gotten through the shield without him knowing?

"I have many talents," Dai Kioshin answered his unspoken thoughts.

"Leave at once," Babidi snapped. Still, he was nervous, he had no idea if he could actually dispel the Kai from his dome if push came to shove.

"No." Dai Kioshin shook his head, "I have come to help you. I will merely say that your work here is beneficial to me. It will take a long time to fill that meter, but I will help you."

Nodding, Babidi watched him every inch of the way. Dai Kioshin neared the green pillar, then placed both hands on it. Instantly sparks flared, but before Babidi acted he realized that Dai Kioshin was giving his energy to the beam, not harming it. After a few moments, the Kai stepped back, panting heavily. Still, there was a brighter green than ever glowing in the beam.

"Keep up the good work."

Before Babidi could talk with him further, Dai Kioshin vanished, leaving not even a trace of energy behind. Still, glancing at the meter, Babidi was impressed to see that it had increased to a full 30%. Very good. Very good indeed. Chuckling and rubbing his hands together, Babidi left the room to plan.

"Welcome back everyone! We'll now be continuing this tournament with round 2! Only four competitor are left, and the next two matches will decide the final! With that, the first match is Kakkarrot versus Shin!"

18 watched speculatively as they both walked out to the ring. Shin was confidently striding, smirking again. He definitely seemed sure about winning this battle. By contrast, Goku was rubbing his forehead and wincing slightly, the spell obviously weighing heavily on him. But when both of them faced off in the ring, all trace of that was gone. Locking eyes with Shin, Goku didn't give an inch of space.

The bell sounded and the Kioshin raced forward instantly. 18 effortlessly saw through his guise and realized he wasn't using anywhere near his full power. Goku realized the same thing, because instead of retaliating, Goku caught him oddly with one arm. She recognized the hold; it was effective, but you had to be a lot stronger than your opponent to make it work, because they could slip out between your fingers. With Shin's power reduced, however, Goku did so easily, then hurled him across the ring, where Shin landed heavily on his back.

"Don't give me that," Goku said. "At least do me the honor of your full power."

"Very well." Shin smirked again as he got up. "But you might regret that!"

Goku calmly waited as Shin began to power up. Dust rose from the ground and rotated around him at a surprising speed, energy began crackling over Shin as he continued. The sky had been clear before, but clouds formed, angrily throwing lightning in multiple directions. Shin laughed, but Goku still seemed unimpressed. 18 found herself wondering how much of the power up was show and how much of it was just not keeping his power around himself. Whatever the case, Shin finished, then attacked again.

Disappearing, Goku was instantly on the other side of the arena, two fingers to his forehead. Shin turned and attacked again, and this time they connected. From what she could figure out, Goku was mostly blocking, but struck in his own turn as well, mainly small blows that chipped away at Shin. His opponent did get one punch in, but Goku used that time to kick him with full power, sending him across the arena.

Getting up, Shin gritted his teeth and hurled some sort of energy attack at Goku. Instantly his opponent fired back, and the first two blasts canceled each other out, but what Shin didn't realize was that Goku had fired two blasts, and the second hit him dead on.

While he went flying away from the ring, Shin floated in the air, thus not touching the ground and allowing the match to continue. His next attack was a flying kick, which Goku effortlessly blocked, then retaliated by knife-handing him hard. Falling to the ring, Shin flipped to his feet, hitting Goku in the jaw.

Staggering back, Goku saw Shin continue with what he thought was a follow-up. But as he neared Goku, the saiyan left the pretense of being stunned and caught Shin's fist. Shin instantly swung his other fist, which Goku caught as well. Before Shin could break free, Goku lifted his foot and kicked him hard. The blow sent Shin sliding across the arena, but barely remained in it.

Getting up, Shin's hands clenched tightly, then suddenly opened in an outpouring of energy. The waves flew out and encircled Goku, condensing and becoming black. Shin launched more, completely binding Goku's arms and legs. Another wrapped around his mouth, gagging him.

"Well," Shin smirked, "you've done well, but I fear this is my fight. I've disabled every move that you have, now that you can't use your hands or say anything."

Smiling into the gag, Goku saw Shin's surprise as a energy disk formed in front of Goku and flew directly at his opponent. Shin ducked under it, but then Goku fired a Kamehameha from himself, and the beam nicking Shin, sending him tumbling. As Shin looked shocked, Goku shattered the bonds around him and stepped forward.

"Do you really think I need that sort of thing? Those are tools, nothing more."

"Very well then, this isn't over yet." They clashed, and both staggered back.

Though they were both up again, it appeared that Shin's energy was now run down. He knew it too, and was quickly looking for a way to end the fight. Goku didn't give him a chance. Now that his opponent showed weakness, Goku launched an all-out assault. The first punch sent Shin sailing, and Goku was immediately behind him, hammering him down into the arena. When he hit and didn't get up, Goku body slammed him into the arena a few more feet. 18 had to smile; Goku's fighting style was extremely interesting to watch.

Managing to crawl out, Shin's chin met Goku's boot. He fell backward, just barely within the arena. Shin coughed, then spoke, causing Goku to stop his next attack.

"That's it for me," he barely managed to say. "You've won. Before you finish this, would you at least show me your full power?"

"Certainly." Goku smiled, then instantly turned Super Saiyan. Raising a hand toward his fallen opponent, a lightning bolt lanced from the sky and hit Shin. The Enforcer was blasted back and out of the ring. Medics rushed to attend him, but it appeared that Shin would be fine. Goku powered down and moved back to their box, nodding to 18 as she left to go and enter the arena for her fight.


	48. Episode XXXXVI: World Tournament

In actuality, Goku didn't show his full power at all. He did advance to Super Saiyan, which was enough to be believable. However, Goku at this point is closer to the third level than anything else, and at the moment he has a great deal of power he doesn't even need to use. That, of course, will change.

While the Majins could have used Goku's energy, they aren't smart enough to pull it off. They'd have to be closer, and I'd imagine that Goku's energy would be very tricky to work with. Meanwhile, you should be very glad (in a limited, story-based sense) that Goku hasn't let his power go to his head. Not only will this give him an advantage, it will be absolutely essential for something that will occur much later.

Moving to the present chapter, I'm somewhat glad to say the tournament is finally complete. I'm uncertain what everyone will think of this next saga, but I hope many of you enjoy it: we are nearing the very end. Of course, there are still a fair number of chapters left, in addition to some of the better moments in the entire story. I cannot say that there is a great deal of hidden plot running through this story, but it will finally come to an end. For now, let us not think of such things.

-

"Kakkarrot is our first finalist!" the announcer roared to the crowds. "Now we'll see who faces him in the final in this next battle! Both warriors have never participated before, but both effortlessly defeated their opponents in the first round. Now I give you- Videl versus Juuhachigou!"

Both named warriors walked out to the ring. Videl kept glancing over at 18, as if she sensed something wasn't right. 18 just ignored her until they were on opposite sides of the ring. Goku suddenly realized what was going on and struggled to close the gap that could have been appearing in his spell, but he was too late. Throwing his figurative hands in the air, Goku just gave up on hiding it from Videl. Her hatred had already pierced the spell, and now she looked at 18 with an expression of shock.

"You!" 18 found it ironic how much she resembled the saiyan hunter. "You were the one who killed so many! It was you who would have killed my father, if not for..."

"For what?" 18 asked, smiling slightly as Videl's voice trailed off. "If not for a saiyan? Rather a moral bind you have yourself in, don't you?"

"It doesn't matter!" Videl snapped back. "I am the daughter of Hercule, and I'm far stronger than he! I will destroy you!"

"So much anger... if you were a saiyan, I have no doubt you'd be turning Super Saiyan right now."

"Don't compare me to a saiyan! I'll kill you now!"

"If you give up now, this will be less painful for you. Surely you know how strong I am. You don't have to go your father's way."

"No!" Videl jumped forward, as 18 knew she would. She rarely toyed with any opponent, no matter how weak, and Videl had no idea what she was getting into. 18 slammed her knee directly into Videl's chin, sending her flying backward. Before she hit, 18 caught her by the neck. As their eyes met, 18 shook her head, then tossed Videl from the ring. The medics immediately rushed to her, and 18 turned from the ring. Effortless.

Hercule gaped. Never, ever had he believed that anyone could be as powerful as that warrior down below. The last fight had already got him shaking in his boots, but this one involved his daughter, and he knew how strong she was. Once again, he thanked himself for not entering.

"Well everyone," the announcer began, "we have two finalists for our last match, and it should prove to be one of our best. After a brief time for both to rest, we'll begin combat again. Thanks for being here folks, and supporting the tournament!"

18 and Goku flew down and whispered something in the announcer's ear, he nodded and addressed the crowd again.

"Correction. Both fighters have agreed to do the final fight now, with no resting period. That just means you guys get the best fight sooner! Let the finale begin!"

Both jumped to opposite sides of the ring. Goku smiled briefly as he waited for the buzzer to sound. The fight began, and they both instantly moved. Jumping, Goku barely cleared 18's first strike, then landed, ducking another coming his way. Elbowing backward, Goku connected with 18, who flew backward briefly before attacking him again.

This time they connected in a whirlwind of attacks. Goku got a few blows through, as did 18, but neither hit dead on. Eventually Goku jumped back slightly and began dodging everything thrown his way. After patiently dodging for a little while, Goku saw 18 make one punch a split second too slow. Capitalizing on that, he got in his own kick, sending her flying.

She came back faster than he had expected, slamming him into the ground. He was pinned for a second, then suddenly vanished, a second later kicking her in the back. They both parted, then landed on opposite sides of the ring again. Neither was even breathing heavily yet.

"What was that?" 18 asked, watching him carefully.

"I've been working on Instant Transmission using no ki to latch onto, or the motions. That was what I ended up with."

"You finally got it to work? I wish I had time to copy it."

"Yeah, it took a long time. We'll have time for you to learn it afterward."

"Well, don't hold anything back in this fight."

"Don't worry about that."

Again both of them clashed, and both were knocked back. Flying upward, 18 raised a hand and launched small ki blasts from each finger, machine-gun style. Curling into a ball in the air, Goku allowed the bolts to deflect off him nearly harmlessly. He fired a blast back, and she narrowly avoided it. Powering up, sending energy waves into the air, Goku flew toward 18 in a flying kick. She blocked it easily, but that was what he intended her to do. The energy waves he had fired now homed in toward her and struck her from all sides.

Falling, 18 turned enough to land on her feet, and then Goku landed on the ground opposite her. Leaping forward, 18 used Instant Transmission back on him to send him into the arena a few feet with a killer punch. He jumped out with a kick to the jaw, but she barely stumbled and sent him flying back. Appearing in his path of flight, she sent him falling to the arena, where a giant cloud of dust covered it.

As it cleared, Goku was standing there, still looking relatively ok. 18 had been hoping he would use his full power explosively, but apparently he was using it more as a defensive mechanism. Whatever, it really didn't matter to her. She landed on the other side, then attacked again.

Doing a front flip in the air, Goku ducked under her punch. At the same time, his foot circled around as well, hit her and drove her head first into the arena. She easily flipped up again, but Goku blocked the attack that she used along with it.

Realizing she was slowly but surely losing the battle, 18 decided to use another of the tricks she still had up her sleeve. The next time they clashed, she used Hyper Zanzoken. Instantly her speed increased greatly, and Goku barely avoided her first blow. Jumping backward, he managed to buy himself a few more split seconds of time, and then he had to dodge again. As she attacked, he stayed a hair's width away from her now far faster blows. Eventually the effects wore off and they were on even ground again.

Backing away, 18 used it a second time, this time in a slightly different manner. As she zipped around the arena, she left repeated afterimages. Goku looked around nervously for the correct one, but couldn't find her fast enough to avoid the kick to the back. Rolling with the damage, he got to his feet and watched the afterimages carefully. This time he blocked the blow coming at him, even though he couldn't tell from whence it came. A second later he launched ki in a large dome from himself, blasting the real 18 backward and from the arena. 

Floating above the now damaged arena, 18 realized the effects of the Hyper Zanzoken had worn off again, and she couldn't use Hyper Zanzoken again without it draining her more then the good it would do. Goku must have realized this because he smiled, then performed Hyper Zanzoken himself. The afterimages formed around her, and she tried to pick out the real one, but failed. Suddenly all eight of the afterimages attacked, and she plummeted toward the ground.

Crashing into it, she got to her feet to see Goku land opposite her again.

"How'd you do that?"

"Improved Zanzoken." Goku smiled. "I knew that you would know all of my moves, so I thought up a new one right after our last mindmeld. Like it?"

"I'm impressed."

Clashing again, the fight continued.

Babidi waved his hands, then hurled the smoke capsules down with a flourish. As they caused the very air to turn black, he quickly performed the spell that would summon who he wanted. Two minions was not enough, he needed more if he hoped to win a fight against anyone powerful enough to try and oppose him. He had just the idea of where he could find more, and he hoped this worked.

Something darker than the smoke seemed to materialize in a circle of flames. Instantly casting a time freeze spell, Babidi made the flames freeze around him, trapping the being that he had summoned. Whatever it was bowed down on one knee to him.

"What is your wish, master?" it asked, a deep rasping voice. Babidi looked at it closely. The monster was clothed in a blue uniform that he didn't recognize, but its skin was a dark red color. Two large pointed ears stuck out from either side of his head, and a small amount of black hair covered it. When its mouth opened, sharp teeth were revealed. On the ends of its arms were hands that could barely be called hands, more a type of claw. This would be good enough.

"I am Babidi," the sorcerer told him, "and I have summoned you to help protect this dome until I can summon a creature to help me take over the galaxy. I've heard that your powers are exceptional, as well as that you possess a few unique talents as well."

"Yes," the monster nodded. "I am without compare in the HFIL."

"Good." Babidi chuckled. "Well then. What is your name?"

"Dabura."

"Well then, Dabura, I have an interesting proposition for you. If you grant me your energy, I'll give you greater power than you have ever possessed before."

"Is the change permanent?"

"Yes. Oh yes."

"Then please do so immediately."

Removing the flames, Babidi began casting the spell again. Energy flowed from his hands, and the receptors on the walls glowed brilliantly. Green light shot out around Dabura, and the monster roared in pain. There was an explosion of white, and then it was over.

Dabura now stood there, seeming larger and stronger. On his forehead there was now a large M, which still glowed a hot green. After a short while, it faded to a normal black.

"You are now Majin Dabura," Babidi told him. "Your powers have been increased greatly."

Just then something else entered the dome. Suppopovitch soon climbed up the stairs to where they stood. In his hand he held a brightly glowing lantern.

"Welcome," Babidi told him. "I see you have succeeded. I would like you to meet the newest Majin, he is Dabura. Dabura, this will be one of your teammates, Suppopovitch."

Both of them nodded to each other, then Babidi took the lamp and inserted it to the beam of light as well. The meter had increased because of the dark energy that resulted when he turned Dabura into a Majin, and now it grew even more. When the lamp was extinguished and Suppopovitch again held it, Babidi checked the gauge. 60% now, the power was growing. Soon, very soon.

King Vegita sighed deeply, gazing down into the universe below. He had long ago accepted he could never step in himself and affect events there, but it still annoyed him. But today his watching was shattered by a black smoke that suddenly obscured his vision. Coughing and turning, he tried to see the figure standing there, but could only make out a small form through the smoke.

"Who are you?" he demanded. The figure laughed.

"You'll know soon enough. I have a very interesting proposition for you, Vegita, a very interesting one indeed."

Using Hyper Zanzoken a second time, Goku sped forward, hitting 18 with a glancing blow. She managed to dodge his next attack, but then was hit straight on. Flying to the side, Goku kicked her back, then knocked her directly down as her momentum changed direction. Appearing below her, he launched a gigantic uppercut that sent 18 flying. The next time she got up, the effect had worn off, but 18 was now in a bad condition.

Inevitably, they both fired Kamehamehas, and the huge blasts struck together and began forcing them back and forth. 18 put her full strength into the beam, and was barely gaining ground. Sweat poured down Goku's face as he held the beam back, then pushed it away from him. Slightly shocked, 18 realized Goku was using only one hand to fire his attack.

"Goku!" she called. "You promised to use your full power!"

He heard her, and sighed. "Well, I wanted to do it with one hand, but I suppose I did promise."

Instantly his other hand locked down with the first, and his beam roared to life, crackling with power. Her own blasted back toward her, and then the beam struck her directly. She was flung backward, through the tournament wall, and out of sight before the beam dissipated. Waiting for the announcer to acknowledge his victory, Goku flew after 18.

"That was a good fight, wasn't it?" he asked. She managed to nod.

"One of our best." Gathering the far too rare pure energy from the earth, Goku fired a soft white beam at her, floating her to her feet. His healing powers had been improving, and soon she felt better. They both flew back to the arena and landed again, but the match was over. The arena didn't look anywhere near as good as it had, with rubble and holes everywhere.

"And Kakkarrot has won the tournament!" the announcer roared to the crowds, who cheered wildly. For an instant, Goku was struck with a strong sense of nostalgia, seeing crowds cheering for him, not yelling at him. A time long ago when things weren't this way. Brushing aside memories of the past, he graciously took the prize money, which he didn't need, and left the arena with 18.

Instantly reporters began crowding toward all the contestants. Goku was sure he had no chance of actually covering the eyes of the entire television audience, the instant a building briefly obscured them from sight, he laid a hand on 18's shoulder and teleported them both away. Atop the city, they flew farther before stopping. Breathing a sigh of relief, Goku let go of the spell. Instantly it seemed as if a huge weight was lifted from him. Not something he wanted to repeat anytime soon.

"Well, that was actually fun," 18 commented.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"What should we do now?"

"I figure we should follow up on that Suppopovitch guy. We might have problems bigger than a tournament on our hands here."

"Fine by me, can you sense him?"

Closing his eyes a second, Goku searched the entire area around him, expanding outward.

"Near the city," he said suddenly, his eyes flickering open. "I'm not sure if it's him, but it feels almost identical and it is draining other energies at a large rate."

18 found the ki a second after he did, and then they both vanished at the same time. When he reappeared, Goku immediately reasserted himself. Sure enough, down below stood a figure, holding a green lamp. All around him, people were collapsing to the ground.

They both landed, and Goku realized that this wasn't the person they were looking for; still, it was close enough to be his brother. This one was smaller, but still musclebound. The telltale M showed up on his forehead, identical to the other. Goku had no idea what it meant, but this one and Suppopovitch were obviously of a kind.

Bending down, Goku checked the ki of those on the ground. They weren't dead, just completely drained. Just then, the warrior noticed them, then waved his lamp in their direction. 18 instantly put up a shield around both of them, the green light merely reflected off of it.

"Who might you be?" He chuckled, putting away the lamp. 18 removed the shield but remained on guard.

"I'd like to ask who you are."

"Well, touchy, aren't we? I am Yamoo, and I suppose your names really don't matter after I kill you,"

Without saying another word, he leaped forward to attack them. As soon as he neared them they vanished, appeared above him. Two kicks slammed him backward and into the ground. Getting up, Yamoo attacked again. Goku ducked under it, grabbing Yamoo's feet and pushing him onward, where he fell victim to 18's punch. As he jumped backward, Goku instantly sped around behind him, hammering him into the ground. 18 attempted to kick him, but he got up and evaded, as he appeared behind her, he received a backward elbow directly in the stomach and went crashing into the ground again.

Barely getting to his feet, Yamoo suddenly began laughing. Goku recognized it as insanity, but he was sure there had to be something behind it. Yamoo withdrew the lamp again and green light blazed forth.

"You may defeat me," he laughed, "but I'll take down the entire city and you along with it!"

Energy began expanding from him in a dome, arcing out to incinerate the city. Before it grew more than five feet however, Goku flew alongside and put a hand on it, his fingers sinking into the energy just a bit. A ripple moved out from his fingers, and the dome seemed to freeze in place, remaining still. Yamoo gaped, then roared in anger, but try as he might, he could not get the dome to expand. Tightening his grip, Goku began forcing the orb smaller, until Yamoo could barely fit inside it.

Picking up the orb, Goku hurled it to 18, who punched it straight down. Flying beneath it, Goku kicked it back upwards again. Both fired blasts at the same instant and when the dust cleared, nothing remained. Green energy floated in the air and began moving back towards its owners. 18 landed beside him.

"We still aren't any further than we were before," she said. "We have no idea what this is all about."

"Actually, we do know this energy draining issue is bigger than one person, at least two are involved. I think we're getting into something big here."

"Do you think we can trace Suppopovitch?"

"We can try." Both closed their eyes and began searching the ki streams. War had begun... and now began the retaliation.


	49. Episode XXXXVII: Final Saga

I have made an effort to include italics tags, in that there is a fair amount of telekinesis being thrown between characters. While I should have done this in a few previous chapters, I did not do so. Though I apologize, I doubt I will do much better in the future.

-

Shin walked past the Afterlife warriors, not heeding their calls. This should not have been possible, it just wasn't right. He was the Enforcer, his was the strongest power in the galaxy. There should never have been anyone capable of matching him, much less beating him as easily as the saiyan had done. Something was wrong, power in the galaxy seemed to be uneven, like there was something great taking place. 

Grating his teeth, Shin slammed a fist into his palm. Could it be that he couldn't keep up with the new outbreak of power? Could he really have been left behind? It wasn't right. Without him, the galaxy could fall apart, chaos would reign. This evil, too, was approaching, and he had no idea what was causing it. Earth had been a stepping stone, he should have been there just long enough to find out what seed was placed there and exterminate it. Not only couldn't he stop it, he'd been beaten as well.

Turning swiftly on his heel, Shin moved toward the mirror. Maybe answers could be found there. These disturbances had to be causing some sort of problem on the deepest level of reality. Going through finely crafted arches, Shin strode toward his goal, too wrapped up in his own dark thoughts to notice anything around him.

The mirror stood at the other end, completely silent and mysterious. Shin touched the silver outlining of it a second, caressing the cold metal. How many times this had given him greater insight into what was really going on in the galaxy were countless. Dai Kioshin could pretend to be in charge, but when it came to power, Shin was the master, and he protected the galaxy.

Priests cared for the mirror, and now they fluttered around him anxiously, speaking words of caution that he didn't hear. He knew that the mirror could be dangerous, that he saw things as they were, on the level that was deeper than deep. But whatever dangers the mirror held, he was more than a match for, because he was the Enforcer.

As reality swirled around him and left for an instant as he entered the mirror, a sliver of doubt crept into his mind- was he?

Coming to amidst a wash of sound and light and color, every feeling, emotion, sensation possible flooded at him, completely uncontrolled. Shin tightened his mental control and found where he wanted, making everything else fall away. Only a softly flowing green floated around everything, infusing the plane he was in. There had to be an answer here somewhere, the galaxy seemed unbalanced and that unbalance should be obvious here.

Why would that be? There was some power that wasn't right, something that should not have been. This could have consequences that would destroy the galaxy, if he wasn't careful. Or it could just be a false alarm. What could it have been? The saiyan, and his determination came to mind. If he honestly was strong enough, he could overturn laws of reality. If he and the Legendary One ever came into contact, it could rend the galaxy into pieces. There would be nothing but anarchy.

Surely Dai Kioshin understood this. His power would be of immense help in the struggle to come. There were resources at his command that could have sensed this long before, why hadn't he said anything? Unless, the thought came to him with a slow dread. Unless Dai could benefit from it somehow. If there was a way that a universe without rules would help him, he would have done it. But why?

Slowly but surely, an answer began to formulate in his mind. Unnoticed behind him, the green plane began to crack, and a black force forced it's way in, growing in power and circling behind the unwatchful Guardian. Shin's eyes opened wide, that was it! There was an answer! If he moved instantly, there could be a way-

As he turned, he saw the darkness collected there in front of him. With all his power he tried to throw it back, but found it to be far more than any normal force in this plane. What was this? Throwing his energy out, he struck the force, but it didn't slow it down as it turned his plane to black. When at last all traces of color had been removed, something else appeared, a Darkness darker than the darkness around it.

"Who are you?" the Kioshin called into the darkness, his power creating a shield around him, sheltering him from the emptiness.

"You mean what am I." The voice was deep, surrounding him, completely evil. Before he could say anything else, it spoke again, its voice full of laughter.

"It is finally time. I am the Darkness you have all feared."

"No! We will force you back!"

"I do not believe so. This dimension will be ended, and all others after it."

"We will fight you together! You will fall, for a final time!"

"Not when you are helping me so."

"What?"

"You never have understood, have you? Your hatred is all that I need from you, and now all my work has come into fruitation."

"We will defeat you!"

"If you chose to believe so. Hope is futile. But in any case, it is over for you, little guardian."

The Darkness whirled around with force beyond anything the normal galaxy knew existed. There was a snap as the barrier around Shin vanished, and then he was dragged down into nothing. He became smaller and smaller within the total darkness, completely alone. In the last instant before he ceased to exist, Shin gave a desperate cry, and then there was silence. 

Piccolo calmly walked through King Yemma's office. The giant looked at him and glowered, but had long ago learned he couldn't stop his comings and goings. Exiting one door, Piccolo began walking across Snake Way. When he was sufficiently far, he jumped off the side and dove like a rocket through the yellow clouds below. Flipping and landing on his feet, Piccolo considered the HFIL around him.

Ignoring the spirits clamoring around him, Piccolo began running toward his destination. Speeding across the red lakes and brown fields, he was unopposed until he was nearly in sight of the tree. The two ogres guarding the tree flickered into existence.

They looked as unchanged as they had centuries ago. Both wore clothing resembling basketballs jerseys, labeled one and two. The first was blue and renowned for his strength, the other red and for speed. Now they blocked his path.

"You have no business at King Yemma's Tree," they snapped at him. Piccolo smiled.

"Get out of my way."

"Do you want to try and get past us?" Both began laughing insanely, slapping each other on the back. Before they could even move a muscle, Piccolo zipped past both of them, appearing behind them. They gaped, then the blue one charged at him. Catching him with one hand, Piccolo hurled him over the horizon. The other attacked as well, but Piccolo easily dodged his punch and then struck him on the back of the neck, knocking him unconscious.

Unopposed, Piccolo walked up to the tree itself. Two fruit hung on the fragile branches, and he took one carefully off. King Yemma's Fruit would allow the eater to need no food for a month, but the very first taste granted incredible power, depending on how much you already possessed. While Nameks were never intended to actually eat anything, needing only water, he ate the entire thing.

Instantly power shot around him, and he chuckled. This was real power. It had finally broken through the layer of power that he knew was inside him, but had been locked away. All the training he had been doing was instantly realized in solid power.

Flying upward, Piccolo effortlessly broke through the layer of clouds and landed on Snake Way. Gathering his energy, he tried to send his thoughts out across time and space. The new surge of power the fruit had given him breached the barriers that Dai Kioshin had in place and he got through.

Goku and 18 had just killed one of Babidi's servants, Yamoo. They were just as far as he thought they would be, which was good. Things were going as planned, or at least they appeared to be.

[i]Goku,[/i] he called, [i]can you here me?[/i]

[i]We're here. Nice to hear you again.[/i]

[i]As always, my time is limited. There is a sorcerer on earth called Babidi. He intends to release Evil itself into the world to use as his servant in conquering the galaxy. What he must do is gather energy from any source he can. When he has enough, Evil will be released. Of course, he doesn't realize that what he'd actually be bringing back is the greatest incarnation of Darkness to ever exist- Buu. To say the least, that would be bad, so if you can stop him before then, it will nip the problem at the bud. I can give you the ki signature of the dome, but I'm sure that he has a shield to keep you from just teleporting inside. 

In his days, he's gotten quite a number of warriors to help him out, and he has a teleportation spell that he can use if he needs to. If you're careful, you should be able to follow him. Watch out, because if he does manage to get away, he can just continue his mission once more.

How much more time do you have to speak with us?[/i] Goku asked.

[i]Not much; I have a few other things to say yet..[/i]

Dai Kioshin suddenly felt the signal being sent. So the Namek was interfering with his plans again. Well, this time, he was ready for him, he had a trick up his sleeve. Gathering up his energy, Dai Kioshin cast a spell, the strongest in his arsenal. The job done, he collapsed into his chair. But now, things were going to be very difficult for Goku to do anything to hinder his plans. Dai Kioshin sent a message to Babidi. Very difficult indeed.

There was a red burst of energy, and then 18 suddenly vanished. Goku felt for her ki and found none nearby.

[i]What happened?

Dai Kioshin must have used a teleportation spell of some sort,[/i] Piccolo answered grimly, [i]and I don't care to know why. But I'm almost certain that she's at Babidi's dome now. If you hurry, you could probably get her back again. In the meantime she can take care of herself.

Right[/i], Goku nodded, even though Piccolo couldn't see it.

[i]I can't speak much more. Good luck, old buddy.[/i]

Even as he said goodbye, Goku felt Piccolo's consciousness leave his and retreat to the Afterlife once again. Bounding into the air, Goku flew as fast as he could over the horizon. The ki Piccolo had given him was still fresh in his mind, and he flew directly toward it. As things went, it was almost directly on the opposite side of the planet. Calculating quickly in his head, he figured if he didn't want to waste his energy it would take him about two minutes. He hoped that would be soon enough.

Just as he was finally nearing his destination, a ki suddenly flared up before him. Skidding to a halt, he saw 18 in front of him. Still, something seemed horribly wrong, and an instant later his eyes affirmed that observation. On her forehead was the large black M he had seen before.

"What's this?" he asked, his mind trying to figure out what was going on. 

"You will be eliminated," 18 responded. 

"What?"

Both of them drifted down to ground level, landing softly. Goku recognized a dark energy flowing from the M. Whatever it was, it was affecting 18. Also, her power seemed to have risen sharply. While he understood this well enough, he still had no idea what was going on.

Dropping into a fighting stance, 18 spoke again. "Now defend yourself."

"I won't fight you," Goku told her. "It doesn't have to be this way. You can-"

A right cross hurled him across the ground; he landed painfully but flipped to his feet.

"Fool," Majin 18 spat out. "If you refuse to fight me, even you will die eventually."

"Maybe you can defeat me as I am now," Goku conceded then licked blood from his lip. "But can you as I can be?"

Energy roared out around him, golden flames of power licking the air as they formed an aura around him. Bolts of energy burst in spurts around the aura, but Goku held them closely to himself. 18 seemed slightly surprised, but unhindered. Even so, he was a Super Saiyan 2.

The next time she flew forward to punch, her hand froze on the outside of the aura, unable to penetrate. Forcing all of her energy into her hand, she was able to push in maybe an inch or so, but no further. Jumping back, she eyed him carefully.

"I don't know what happened," Goku spoke again, softly, "but there isn't any need for us to fight. There's still something of you left, and I know you'd never do this."

"Babidi erased all good," was all Majin 18 said, before attacking in a flurry of blows. Each merely bounced off of his aura harmlessly. Jumping backward, she fired a multitude of energy blasts his way, all of which splashed off the aura, which blazed brightly. Charging up a giant blast, Majin 18 launched it, but when the dust cleared, Goku had yet to move from his place.

"Don't fight. You can't win. Please, we need to solve this problem."

"You have nothing to say I want to hear."

"Please."

"Babidi reawakened my evil side. Now I will destroy you,"

"This can't be-"

As a response she gathered energy in one hand, but aimed it toward the city, barely on the horizon.

"I may be unable to harm you, but can you say the same for an unarmed city?"

The blast was fired, but Goku leaped in the way of it, causing it to redirect off course. They both locked eyes a second, at an apparent stalemate. Before she attacked again, a loud sound instantly split the air as hundreds of machine guns opened fire. While they had been fighting, one of the recently made armies patrolling this area had apparently found them and attacked. The bullets deflected off 18 or turned to ash in Goku's flames harmlessly. Tanks rolled into play, but their weapons were just as useless as the others.

Growling, 18 raised a hand toward the army, collecting enough energy to remove all of them from the surface of the planet. Goku quickly fired a blast of his own that deflected her's off into space. She turned back to him, looking annoyed. The bullets and missiles continued to crash against them harmlessly.

"Why did you stop me? They hate you as much as they do me!"

"I won't allow you to just kill innocents, however much they might deserve it."

"What can you do about it then?" she smirked. Goku raised one hand, and began concentrating. A soft wind began to blow from the north, gaining in speed as it neared them. The army was forced to cover its eyes in defense as the biting wind picked up speed. Eventually it even began blowing 18's hair.

"Wind?" she asked, "What good does that do?"

"You'll see." Goku smiled. The wind built up in intensity, and then struck the army full force. They were sent flying through the air and over the horizon. As soon as they were out of sight, Goku dropped the wind and let it return to its natural course. Back to the real fight.

The army landed nearby the city, and miraculously, there were only a few injured. They needed no vote to decide not to go back there again.


	50. Episode XXXXVIII: Final Saga

Well, I am glad that I managed to surprise with Majin 18. As this story winds closer and closer to its conclusion, surprises are growing slimmer. There are still several worthwhile and somewhat novel elements remaining, however, that I feel will carry us to the end. In this chapter there is one event of arguable science... but this is DBZ, who has ever been counting?

In this paragraph I respond to an individual reviewing earlier chapters, with full knowledge that when they actually read this it will be out of context. Yes, the story's flow is somewhat halting and at times insufficient. About this I will merely say what Aldous Huxley did of [i]Brave New World[/i]: If I were to write it again it would become better, but it would lose some of what made the original worthwhile.

Yes, I did mean that telepathy is in italics, not telekinesis. I was in rather a hurry in getting out the last chapter, partially due to some terrible problems involving data corruption. But I have not come here to speak about my personal issues. The chapter:

-

Breathing heavily, Majin 18 glared at him from across the field. Goku remained in his aura, unscratched. By now, he had a pretty good impression of what had happened. Somehow, some form of magic was confusing her mind. Whoever had done it was good, too. She had mentioned the name Babidi, so whoever that was had done this.

"Go ahead," she hissed, "finish me now. I can't stop you."

"No." Goku shook his head. "I won't kill you. I said I wouldn't fight."

"Why would you do that? I'll just keep trying to destroy you!"

"That's not what this is about." Goku powered down, dropping to his normal form. Instantly 18 flitted to him, one hand on his chest, ready to send energy ripping his body to shreds.

"Why'd you let down your guard?" Majin 18 asked. "You had me there, but now I could kill you at any time. I have to know why!"

"You hesitate, don't you?" He smiled. "There's still good in there."

Her eyes blinked and shut tightly, but her hand never wavered. Goku knew he was walking a fine line and made his gamble. It was now or never.

"End this charade," his voice was almost a whisper, "this is nothing more then a magically-induced mindset. Think about it and you'll understand how this is impossible. Babidi awakened your dark side? That cannot be, as there is no dark side to release."

"But-"

"No. There is only one you, not two. The 18 I fell in love with doesn't have two opposing sides, there is only one. And what is evil, anyway? I'll tell you one thing, Gero forcing you to do his will, slaughtering everyone, that is an evil. A vicious side come to the surface again? Just as improbable. Nothing has been suppressed, you are the same person you were before. Whatever viciousness in you hasn't been buried, it has just been changed. No matter what you say has come to the surface, it really doesn't matter."

While her hand stayed there, she still hesitated, thoughts tormenting her. Goku went on.

"I love you, 18, and I can tell you that you don't have to do this. All Babidi's magic can do is set a taint, and that doesn't matter," he continued, his voice raising in intensity as he went. "All that has changed is a mindset, but it has no power over you. This is merely a frame of mind and as such, can be dismissed as such!"

He ended the final note nearly shouting and then for an instant there was silence. The quiet shattered as 18 fell to her knees, sobbing. Goku sensed the dark energy from the M on her forehead immediately diminish down to a mere taint. Bending down to her, Goku tenderly held her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I was teleported and I couldn't stop them from doing it. There was too much dark energy. I just didn't understand quickly enough."

"Shhh, it's alright, Babidi has no power over you."

Eventually she acquired the strength to stand again.

"But now what are we going to do about this taint?"

"We have only one choice," Goku told her. "We have to cleanse the taint. That's all that's left."

"But how?"

Goku thought about it for a while, then an idea came to him.

"Replace the taint from you to me, trust me on this."

Standing a few feet apart, Goku breathed deeply and concentrated; 18 closed her eyes. At first, nothing happened, but then an unearthly wind began blowing around them, circling in a vortex. Light seemed to flow from the sky, striking both of them. Goku winced, trying to push aside pain, but 18 had it far worse, and she screamed. Between them a ball of a putrid grey mass began to collect, growing in size and hideousness. Just as 18 thought she couldn't keep it up anymore, the pain burst one final time, and then ended. She collapsed, being held up only by the energies surrounding them. Goku was relieved that the M was removed from her forehead. Just then, his pain intensified greatly. The grey ball before him seemed alive.

[i]We want you.[/i] it hissed into his mind, [i]we will control you, make you ours.[/i] The voice was a ghastly one he had never heard before, but it rang very similar to something he had. Darkness. 

Throwing up mental barriers, Goku instead embraced the dark power itself. The orb flew toward him and as it entered he screamed in agony. Only a portion of his consciousness that refused to give up remained. Then, as suddenly as it had began, it ended, and there was a white explosion of everything.

Babidi gaped. What was that? He had no idea, but then suddenly the energy that he had gained from transforming 18 vanished. How had they done that? How? Well, if they came here they'd get a surprise. Chuckling, he turned back and began making plans.

Finding himself lying on the ground, Goku tried to muster the strength to stand but couldn't. 18 was awake as well, but seemed just as powerless to move. Still, he sighed happily. They had actually done it. The taint could not be directly destroyed, but things had worked as he had expected. In attempting to enter a host that was completely pure of heart, it found that it couldn't survive. With nothing dark to bring out, it simply destroyed itself.

"We did it," he coughed, "now all we need to do is survive and we'll be fine."

"That was supposed to be impossible, you know that?"

"Welcome to the club."

"Can you heal me?"

"Not at this level of energy, and I'm dropping fast; I'd need an outside power source. I have an idea though. Can you give me your infinite power cell?"

Coughing blood into her hand, 18 handed him a small blue matrix. Goku took it and clenched it in his fist, energy suddenly flowing through him. As soon as his body was functioning again, he raised his hands toward 18 and healed her as well. 18 took the cell back and swallowed it. Catching his breath and refilling his energy, Goku was incredibly grateful for that infinite power cell.

"Well, problem solved. Almost too easy."

"Yeah," Goku nodded. "I just hope we haven't lost too much time."

"I wouldn't worry about it, I'm pretty sure I've drained the energy that he gained from me anyway."

"This wasn't without benefit, either. You've gotten a lot stronger."

"Just from surviving a near-death experience your power has increased as well."

"Overall, we're stronger for it."

They stood for a second, just allowing their ki to again regain its maximum. 18 looked at him sadly.

"I'm sorry about that."

"Nothing you could have done." Goku shook his head. "Everyone's vulnerable in some way. It's alright."

"Thank you."

Fully charged again, they both blasted off from the ground and headed toward Babidi's base. They had a date to keep.

The dome came into sight over the horizon, and they both landed before it. There seemed to be a giant magic shield around the entire dome, and they were at it for an instant before a voice suddenly seemed to speak into their minds. 18 instantly recognized it as Babidi, and Goku inferred as much.

"Well, well," the sorcerer chortled, "glad to see you here. But even if you somehow manage to get through my shield, I fear you'll never be able to stop me, much less in time to keep me from my victory. You see, this shield prevents teleporting and flying. Even if you get through, there are five levels to this dome, each with at least one warrior that should instantly stop you in your tracks. That leaves you in a rather tight situation, doesn't it?"

His laughter faded in their minds, and Goku gritted his teeth.

"Can you undo the spell?" 18 asked.

"No, I have a hard enough time keeping him from interfering with his magic. However, I can try to pierce the shield and we can let ourselves in. From there, we can always just walk up the old fashioned way."

"Good. Do it."

Walking to the dome, Goku held out one hand, then spread it flat and drove it into the shield. Energy crackled away from it, and his hand began pushing further and further through. More energy rushed to it, and for a second he stopped. Then his hand went another inch and the shield seemed to pop, its energy exploding out and dissipating into the atmosphere.

They walked on to the doors. 18 blasted through them and they moved inside. The room that greeted them was a round circular one with nothing inside it. On the far side another set of stairs led up to the next level. As soon as they walked in, a form materialized before them.

At first merely a spirit was there, and then soon a body followed. Mists swirled around it, and then as they parted both of them could easily see their opponent. Neither of them had expected it. Standing before them was a saiyan, the living image of Vegita, except in different armor and with a goatee. Goku looked puzzled, not recognizing. 18 thought about it a second and then remembered.

"King Vegita!"

"It is I," he spoke bitterly, glaring at her with undisguised hatred. "I have no words to speak to you, android."

"Care to avenge all your fallen comrades?"

"My fight is not with you; step forward, Kakkarrot!"

"Who is he?" Goku asked. 18 explained, "That's the king of the saiyan race. I heard some about him briefly while I was destroying their planet."

"Hmm."

Goku stepped forward, crossing his arms and waiting to see when King Vegita would fight.

"Do you want to attack first, or should I?" Goku asked, King Vegita shook his head.

"There is no need for us to fight, Babidi's magic may have brought me here, but it cannot hold me. A battle would be needless."

"Really? You actually want to avoid a battle?"

"Not normally," King Vegita spat, like he'd tasted something disagreeable, "but this is a special case. Because- you're my son, Goku."

One eyebrow cocked, Goku took in the information fairly calmly.

"Is that a farce or do you really mean it?"

"It is true," the King sighed, looking away. "You were my son, along with Vegita. But when you were born your power level was a mere 2, and I thought that you would never become anything. My other son, Vegita, had over 1000, and so I kept him and got rid of you.

"I would have done you in right then, but, for some reason it didn't happen. I switched you with another baby, the boy of one Bardock, I believe. Needless to say, he got a bad deal out of it. It was unfortunate that he tried to overcome Vegita and was destroyed."

"Well that was touching." Goku was heavily sarcastic, unusual for him. "Is there a point?"

"Now, my other son is dead, and you are hardly the weakling anymore. I am considering accepting you back as my son."

"Considering," the word was spoken slowly and coldly. "Ha! You toss me out because I start out weak, give me to some stranger, then [i]consider[/i] taking me back?"

"The spirit of the warrior runs hot in you." King Vegita smiled. "I've seen that in the years past. But now that you are the strongest being on this planet, you have come to your full destiny. In fact, you are the only remaining saiyan, the last of the entire race.

"And you must be our new king."

There was a moment of silence, and King Vegita began to get hopeful. Kakkarrot would consider, then give in and continue the line. The saiyans glory would be restored! He would be remembered as the king that saved the saiyans! In an instant his fantasy was shattered, as Goku laughed.

"Getting desperate now, are we? You're first son doesn't work out, so you turn to the other."

"You must, it is your destiny-"

"Shut up," Goku's voice held a commanding quality that made even the King quiet, "and listen. What would I be king of- a dead people? There are no more saiyans. Do you really think it possible that the race could be restored? With what I've become I barely even register as a saiyan anymore. Even if it were possible, why would I want to? From the saiyans I've seen, you're all greedy, destroying killers. Why would I want to start up a kingdom that would wipe out entire planets and then sell them to the highest bidder? I've changed, and it is for the better."

King Vegita suddenly leaped forward, attacking in a haymaker. Before he even got close, Goku was long gone from his position and across the room. The King attacked again, and Goku effortlessly blocked his first strike. As they battled, Goku merely deflected every blow that came his way. While the King might have been strong among saiyans, his power was nothing compared to Goku's.

"You've betrayed us," he hissed, as he parted to catch a breath. "I had high hopes for you. You could have been the leader of the greatest empire ever! Why did you throw it all away like that?"

"Most people don't object to throwing away trash."

Howling, King Vegita attacked him. Goku ducked under his blow and hurled him into the wall.

"You have changed," his voice was now disgusted. "I should have realized it when you got that wench."

The next word in his mouth was stifled as Goku hammered him across the room with a biting kick. Crashing into the wall, the King barely made it back to his feet. Goku stared at him silently, and 18 smiled. Walking over to his father, Goku pulled him up, then pushed him back across the room.

"I'd suggest choosing your vocabulary more carefully next time."

"Why do you even mess with her? She's no suitable mate for a Prince!"

Goku considered ending the battle then, but after a split-second's thought decided against it. He may have deserved a beating for the first comment, but the second was more just an output of saiyan culture. Of course, King Vegita was going to get what was coming to him anyway.

"She killed all of us," King Vegita growled, "or did you already know that? We could have ruled the galaxy, until she and her brother came. You weren't there, you don't understand. You didn't see everyone you knew slaughtered, everyone die away before your eyes."

"Stop it." Goku's voice was tightly controlled. "Do you think I haven't seen pain? I had no one, everyone was either dead or worse, had betrayed me. There was no one on this planet who didn't want to kill me, until I ran into this so-called killer you're talking about."

"You're toying with fire! I can't believe you'd take such risks!"

Things were beginning to echo Vegita's words, years ago. Not wanting to put up with his babble any longer, Goku flew behind him and grabbed his tail. The King roared in pain, then collapsed to the ground. He tried to jerk his tail from Goku's hands, but it was useless. With what appeared to be his last breaths, he struggled to his knees, this time talking to 18.

"Why do you let this happen? You let him control you like this, why-"

Grabbing him by the neck, Goku lifted him up so they met eye to eye. The king realized, slightly startled, that his son had somehow grown, larger than he should ever have been before. He felt the very energy that held him bound both on earth and in the Afterlife being unraveled, sending him toward oblivion.

Speaking softly, Goku delivered a final message. "I may be your son, but I'll never call you father."

Dropping him, Goku watched as the King vanished into a mass of blue fire that soon was snuffed out. Gazing down at where it had been for a second, Goku suddenly turned and walked back to 18. They smiled sadly, and that smile said it all. Without another word, they mounted the stairs to the next level.

-

What follows does not contain any important or relevant information and may be skipped by any reader interested in an interrupted or efficient reading experience. I have no wish to be a typical plugger, and wish to offer you every opportunity to ignore me. That having been said, I have posted the first chapter of a heavily satirical work about fanfiction itself. At the moment it touches upon DBZ, but in any form I feel that it may have redeeming qualities.


	51. Episode IL: Final Saga

I will present this anonymously given review without further comment, save to state that perhaps you will find it as amusing as I did: you are a fool you have written a crap peice of shit that no one will read you don't make the other do evil things no one will read it then [sic- just in general]

My thanks to those of you whose reviews have proven the third clause incorrect.

HBKShowstopaa: Has anyone every told you your communication style is intrinsically abrasive? Yes, I could have (and arguably should have) made the Majin 18 issue last a great deal longer. Were I attempting to make it last an extremely lengthy period of time, I could have made the emotional and dramatic experience cover something to the effect of five chapters.

-

This time when they looked out on the next level, identical to the first, their opponents seemed to teleport in, blocking their path. They were both sufficiently surprised at this battle, for they faced two opponents- perfect copies of themselves. For a long moment neither party spoke.

"Clones, I'm impressed." Goku nodded. "I don't know Babidi's spell for that."

"Are they a problem?"

"They shouldn't be. Clones can't ever capture the inner strength of a person. Do you want to kill them by same type, or cross battle?"

"Cross, just to make things more difficult."

"Fine by me."

They faced off again, Goku against the cloned 18 and 18 against the cloned saiyan. Their opponents dropped into fighting stances identical to their own. As their eyes crackled a second, Goku realized that the clones eyes did not. Smiling, he attacked.

Clone 18was hammered across the room, and came flying back at him. Sliding to the ground, he evaded the first blow. Before she could recover from her attack, he quickly slid around and tripped her up. Jumping to his feet and knocking her across the chamber in one move, Goku followed up by slamming her from behind.

While the clone tried to get a few blows in, Goku found that it was nowhere near as strong as 18 was. Grabbing her wrists on one punch, Goku pulled her toward him the same time his knee came up. The clone's head was slammed back painfully, but Goku continued to hold her wrists. Using all her strength, Clone 18 burst from his grip and fell back. Leaping up, the clone looked weakened already. Powering up, Goku fired a blast that Clone 18 attempted to dodge. It barely nicked her, but then the blast circled around and slammed into her full force. Nothing remained.

At the same time, 18 struck the Clone Goku directly, sending him flying. The clone got to his feet, and then was instantly assailed again. For a second he blocked what was thrown his way, but soon a blow slipped through and then dozens more rained down on him. Jumping backward, the clone fired multiple blasts toward 18, but she deflected them off to the side.

Seeing that it was seriously outclassed, the clone instead fired a Kienzan. 18's hand flew out, and ki suddenly thickened in the air. The disk grinded to a halt and then was sent flying back at the Goku clone, which narrowly avoided it. Firing her machine-gun-style attack again, 18 shredded his shirt and sent him crashing into the wall. Yelling, the Goku clone charged. 18 blocked, and was pushed back a few inches but was otherwise unharmed.

Both jumped back and attacked again. Clone Goku hit 18 across the face directly, but the android didn't even move. The clone gasped and 18 smiled, then attacked. Smashing the Clone Goku painfully, 18 knife-handed him across the room and into the wall, where the crack of bones could be heard.

Goku and 18 glanced at each other, and both of their eyes crackled for a second. The very next moment they ran up to the next level of the dome. Things were pretty dark, the only light came from a few lamps around the room, creating a eerie flickering. Standing in the center of the room was a small dark form.

"I am Doubler, the Prince of Darkness!" the figure spoke in a low, evil voice. "Welcome to my domain. I fear that you shall go no higher than this. Which of you wishes to die first?"

18 stepped forward, and Doubler laughed, an evil laugh.

"You? Well, feel my power!"

As Doubler attacked, 18 leaped over him and landed behind him, a back kick sending him down. He seemed to flow like a liquid and was soon attacking again. Avoiding his blows, barely visible in the dim light, 18 kicked through his guard, sending him flying backward, crashing into the wall. She fired a ki blast, and Doubler fired something strange, a sort of anti-ki that ate hers up and left nothing. Firing more, 18 overcame the nothingness he was throwing her way and sent him flying back.

"Well," he coughed, energy beginning to crackle around him, "you have done well. But I still have tricks up my sleeve. If I touch you, I will drain all of your energy and abilities into myself! There is nothing you can do!"

Launching himself at 18, Doubler saw at the last second that he wasn't going to hit. Ducking low and to the right, 18 let him crash on uselessly. Getting to his feet, he growled, and faced off in the shadows again.

"Good, but can you fight what you cannot see?"

The room was suddenly plunged into darkness as something eclipsed all of the lamps. 18 soon felt what seemed to be claws grabbing a hold of her arm, and the evil laugh sounded throughout the room. Soon, however, the prince discovered that he wasn't getting much energy from his victim.

"Why isn't this working?" he cursed. 18 smiled, though it was invisible in the darkness.

"Do you really think I'd leave myself open to an attack like that? I've considered the possibility of draining long ago and blocked against it."

Before he could distach himself from her arm, 18 hurled him into the wall. Getting up, he laughed again, but his laughter seemed weaker and without substance. His confidence seemed drained.

"Still, you cannot defeat what you cannot see!"

Doubler attacked, only to find a blow already headed his way. Stumbling back, he lowered his ki to almost nothing and hid from 18. She switched to infrared vision and tracked him down, then leaped forward and dealt him a finishing blow. The Prince of Darkness flew across the room and crashed into the wall. The torches were relit and burned to a full blaze, and the body exploded in flames once hit by the light.

They were about to head up to the next level, when Suppopovitch appeared, coming down the stairs to meet them. As he leaped to attack them, both glided out of the way, then dealt him blows from opposite sides. Kicking him, 18 sent him flying, and Goku appeared on the other side, launching a ki blast that sent him back again. Suppopovitch realized with a cold dread that he was completely outclassed, and then 18's hand stopped him short. For an instant he hung in space, then a ki blast shot through him, leaving nothing behind.

Mostly ignoring the slight distraction, they headed up to the next level. Sitting in the center of the floor was a creature unlike any either of them had seen before. Dabura looked up and grinned evilly at them, then got to his feet and looked them both over.

"I am Dabura," he announced, with a deep, powerful voice. "I am the greatest warrior in the entire HFIL. You will cower before me. Turn back, or be destroyed!"

"We've heard this before." 18 yawned. "The last three levels said basically the same thing."

"Do not think to mock me!" Dabura roared, "I will kill you!"

"Not today." Goku stepped forward. "Your fight will be with me."

"My fight will be with both of you, just one at a time instead of both at once. I suppose it just prolongs the fun for me."

"Maybe," Goku nodded. "But are we going to talk, or are we going to fight?"

Dabura instantly jumped for his throat, but Goku rolled backward, avoiding the blow and putting him in perfect position to uppercut his opponent. Falling back, Dabura flew in midair toward him, and Goku just narrowly avoided the attack. They clashed together, Goku successfully avoiding almost everything thrown his way. Dabura fell back, breathing heavily, then powered up.

Energy flowed all around him, bursting out in flames. Attacking, Dabura slammed Goku backward, struck him into the air, elbowed him down, blasted him up, then pummeled him back down to the ground. As the destroyed particles of floor settled again, Goku stood up and smirked. Dabura gaped in astonishment, but a second later the saiyan gave him other things to worried about.

Slammed around the room painfully for a while, Dabura eventually whirled in a circle, knocking Goku off and giving himself a chance to get free. Leaping to a wall, he grabbed a large spear. He tried to hit Goku with it, but the saiyan avoided his every blow, then kicked him in the head. Using the spear like a pole vault, Dabura came back his way, but Goku caught the spear and pulled, using Dabura's own momentum to run him into his fist.

As Dabura fell backward, Goku headbutted him across the room. Dabura was breathing heavily, but then hurled his spear with his full might. It struck Goku on the side of his face, sending his head spinning back. Slowly, Goku turned, revealing his cheek to be completely undamaged. The King of the HFIL gaped in pain as Goku hammered him down so hard he broke through every level to the very bottom.

They quickly turned and went up the next level, where Babidi was waiting for them. The sorcerer jumped and looked surprised when he saw them, but quickly regained his calm. Goku glanced around the room quickly, noticing the large pillar of light, which was beginning to show a solid white circle in the center of it. Also coming to his attention were the energy collectors soaking the world's power and the slowly moving gauge beneath the green pillar of light.

"Well, well, well, do come in," Babidi chuckled. "I see you've beaten the warriors I had in your way. I fear, however, that your path stops here. Because, you see, I cannot allow you to interfere with my plans, and I have special connections on high. Thanks for coming though, you'll be just what I need to get enough energy."

Raising his hands, Babidi chanted, and then purple magic flowed from him and struck both 18 and Goku.

"Fools!" Babidi chortled. "Now I shall take your energy and use it to release the final Evil!"

It was a while later that he noticed that he was getting no energy, the purple waves deflected from both of them harmlessly. Babidi screamed in anger and canceled the spell. Goku allowed his own spell to dissipate as well.

"No! That should have worked! It had to work! Why does this happen to me? Why? Why?"

Just then, Dabura limped from the stairs behind them, barely still living. Drawing in a breath, he launched a blast from his mouth at the backs of the two standing there. This was no ordinary blast, it was one of unusual power, and as soon as it connected with them, they both turned to stone. Coming up to stand beside Babidi, Dabura bowed low, a slight smirk on his face.

"Perfect," Babidi snickered. "They're completely helpless! Victory is mine!"

Again he cast the spell, and this time when it hit Goku the gauge began filling up rapidly.

"This is wonderful," Babidi gloated. "He's like an infinite supply of energy! I'll have more than enough!"

The gauge began filling with startling speed, moving closer to the edge. As it got further along, the green pillar began forming more and more into a green glowing orb that hung in the air. Just as his energy reached the end and Babidi let out a cry of victory, the stone of Goku shattered. Standing there was a normal Goku, who was seething with rage. Firing multiple blasts from his hand, barely flicking his fingers, Goku systematically destroyed all of Babidi's power collectors.

The sorcerer let out a scream of anguish. "So close! 99.5%! Why?"

Dabura fired another blast down at Goku, but this time it had no effect, as Goku had already become immune to the attack.

"Did you think that would work again?" Goku asked, his voice tightly controlled.

"My records say you wouldn't hurt a fly, right?" Babidi asked nervously. Goku scowled.

"You should never have touched 18."

Before they could respond, Goku fired a Solar Flare, blinding both of them. Leaping into the air, Goku began spinning, his legs biting downward like a drill. Dabura hung in space, still unable to see, and Goku span right through him, letting the body fall to the ground. With him dead, the stone 18 began returning to its normal color.

Frantically running, Babidi touched the ball and began chanting a spell. 18 shook herself out and nodded to Goku, but before they could reach the sorcerer, he vanished. Both began searching the planet for where Babidi had gone to, hoping they weren't too late. Fate, it seemed, had an ironic sense of humor.


	52. Episode L: Final Saga

Foremost, I apologize for the extended lack of updates. It was caused by a number of circumstances, both positive and negative, that I have no wish to waste your time with. To balance this, I have some good news. I intend to rewrite the last few chapters of the Final Saga. This may result in slightly less frequent updates, but each of the final chapters will be larger and better than previous fare. All events will remain unchanged.

Regarding the previous chapter: Doubler received a power boost on my part for no true reason. Dabura, conversely, was marginalized because I am not very fond of his character. Yes, it was nice to have a villain with a few brains, but not here.

This chapter is an interesting one, if not exactly cosmically explosive. The very forces that have served as a background for this tale are reaching a breaking point, as evidenced by a number of things that happen in the following chapter. Furthermore, we will get our brief and only look at Fat Buu. Without further ado:

-

The sorcerer sobbed into his arm, beside the ball that would forever remain at 99.5%. He had come so close, why did he have to fail so miserably? Life was so unfair. Just then he felt someone coming toward him, and he quickly looked up to see if it was those two again. To his surprise, it was someone from the city, someone he didn't recognize at all. This current position was right outside the city, they must have sensed him.

Soon the girl came closer, heading directly toward him. Babidi glared at her, but she spoke first.

"Are you the one they call Babidi?"

"Yes, what do you know of me?"

"Little, but I hear that you can grant power beyond anyone's wildest dreams."

"Yes," Babidi chuckled, a plan hatching in his mind, "yes I can. I believe I can make someone of your strength five times stronger than you currently are. What do you say to that?"

"Do it."

His hands shaking with excitement, Babidi chanted and did everything necessary. Videl screamed in agony as she was Majined, but Babidi didn't care, as his meter finally reached completeness. Videl got to her feet, a new M on her forehead and new power flowing through her, but Babidi paid no attention. All victory was his! Moving to the orb, he placed both hands on it and began chanting the summoning spell.

Making a telepathic call down on Earth, Dai Kioshin set his plan in motion. It was time to see what all he could do. After waiting a brief minute, he started powering up and called his apprentice.

"Yes, Master?"

"Open the gates of the Afterlife and aim them at G48."

"But, Master, why?" his apprentice gasped.

"Do it!" Dai Kioshin roared. The apprentice hurried to obey his commands. Dai Kioshin continued powering up and waited for Piccolo to make his move. He'd be ready for him.

Piccolo watched Dai Kioshin from his new concealed position. The Kioshin had many cards, a lot of which worried him. Maybe this was truly the last battle. Ah well, Piccolo decided to lay his hand on the table and see how he did. This time, he'd be ready for Dai Kioshin.

First, however, he had unfinished business to take care of. Piccolo turned and sped off in the other direction. Dai Kioshin had his gloves off, now Piccolo was going to take his off too.

Kami watched the skies, waiting for something horrible that was coming. Evil had been broken loose from its bonds and it was coming across the galaxy. It was horrible, worse then Kami had ever imagined. It wasn't long before it would be flying this way, coming for him. A blue glow appeared by the horizon. It was coming for him, as this was his fate, absorption into the ultimate Evil.

Well, not quite. Kami breathed a sigh of relief. It was just Piccolo. But that was bad too, his alter ego was smiling as usual.

"Why so happy?" Kami spat at him, "Evil is here, your precious Goku is heading toward an unwinnable battle and the entire forces of the Kioshins are against you. What do you have to be happy about?"

Piccolo just smiled mysteriously.

"You never understood, Kami," Piccolo shook his head, "but now, you actually will. Maybe you can learn something other than hate for others, but I doubt it."

Piccolo broke off as he felt Kami's telekinesis moving his arm out to rest on Kami's chest. Jerking his hand back, to Kami's shock, Piccolo didn't look surprised. Kami tried again, but now Piccolo was blocking him. Humph, he, untrained, couldn't stop Kami for long.

But he did. Soon, Kami's hand started coming up as well, toward Piccolo. Sweat was running down Kami's face with the struggle, but Piccolo was winning. It wasn't long before Kami's fingers touched Piccolo. The older Namek screamed a last "no" before suddenly being absorbed into Piccolo.

Smiling at his new power, Piccolo flexed his hand. It felt good to be that powerful again, all of his former power as one. He had been training, but he needed even more power to win this one. That was okay, things were going alright, actually. Dai Kioshin had some nasty stuff set up, and it would be tough to deal with. Of course, Piccolo had that handled. Darkness would be the wild card, and the determining factor in the battle. For now, Piccolo needed to counteract another of Dai Kioshin's moves. Speeding up, Piccolo headed for the Afterlife gates. The young Kioshin was about to begin opening them.

Babidi was interrupted as 18 and Goku found his ki and warped down below. He hadn't quite completed the incantation, and unless he did, all his trouble would be for naught. Videl, however, provided the distraction he needed.

"I've become stronger than ever before!" Videl laughed, glaring at 18, "and now, I'll have my revenge!"

Leaping forward, Videl attacked 18. Goku slipped around them and reached the orb as well. Touching it lightly with both hands, he began unraveling Babidi's work. The sorcerer growled and redoubled his efforts, and for an instant they were matched.

Videl attacked again, and 18 decided to end the fight then. Allowing the ineffective blow to hit her, 18 smirked and then hit Videl with her full power. She went flying through a pillar and when she hit the ground she didn't move. In a few seconds, her ki was gone. Giving her one last look, 18 turned back towards the orb, which was glowing brilliantly, to see how Goku was doing.

Slowly, unescapably, the spell was moving backwards, toward completely gone again. 18 was about to attack the orb and try and destroy it, and then a crimson blast rocketed through the area. For an instant reality tore as an incredible spell slashed through them.

Dai Kioshin continued firing his spell, then shut it off once its work was done. Now it was too late. His plan would finally come into fruitation. All his hopes and dreams would come to be at last.

18 and Goku vanished, appearing on a strange landscape, with a psychedelic ground and air. Catching their bearings, they both attempted to Instant Transmission back out again, but at the last instant Goku realized that there was something wrong. They needed to stop immediately. It was too late, and then a painful shock ran over him.

When he was able to see again, he realized that 18 was gone, and he was in some place he didn't recognize at all. Wherever he was, his Instant Transmission was disabled. Gathering ki, he blasted off, flying toward where Babidi had been. Flying would take a lot longer, but he hoped that 18 had been teleported to someplace closer.

Piccolo saw the gates trembling as the apprentice struggled to open them. He were trying his hardest, but it would take a while for him to get the massive gates open. But that was okay, he could wait a while. Just then, he saw 18 appear in a scarlet flash of light. Not turning to her, he continued watching the gate.

"Piccolo?" 18 asked. He nodded.

"Hello 18."

"Can you tell me what just happened?"

"Dai Kioshin launched his energy and split both of you up. But I knew this was coming. Goku is trying to go to Babidi's again and stop Evil from appearing. I messed with Dai Kioshin's spell, and now you are here instead. Right by the gates of the Afterlife. Dai Kioshin has ordered them opened to allow the dead to terrorize the planet. My plan is to stop him, so I directed you here to help fight. The only ones we need to worry about are all the enemies who have fought us before."

Before 18 could say anything there was a rumbling and a crack of thunder. The gates would soon be opening soon.

Cackling, Babidi finished the spell, a blinding flash of white light rushing over everything. The orb shattered into thousands of tiny pieces, and in the middle of it was a glowing pink ball. Unwrapping around itself, Evil straightened into its physical form- Fat Buu.

"Yes!" Babidi cheered, "Finally! The galaxy is mine!"

Dai Kioshin growled, pounding his fist on the chair beside him. This was an unexpected development, Evil was only in an extremely weakened form. Fat Buu was obedient and Babidi could actually control him. Which meant that the plan of letting Evil run rampant would not work at all.

Bending his fingers, he began considering how to cut his losses. At least the Legendary One had yet to appear. Once he did, then he would go and fight Evil. Perhaps if he helped cut Buu loose he would gain an even greater level of power, and then the Legendary One and Evil would nearly destroy each other. With both of them weakened, Dai Kioshin could step in and kill both of them.

He smiled, seeing how his plan could still come to completion. With both of them gone, there would be a giant vacuum of power, and he would be the one to fill that vacuum as the Legendary One. This was merely a minor setback; he just had to assume that the Legendary One would be born sometime, then make his move. For now, he'd push destiny for the Legendary One to come by causing chaos down below with all the warriors from the Afterlife. Laughing, he continued to watch things unfold toward his plan.

A spirit-breaking laugh shattered through the silence of his planet, and Dai Kioshin whipped his head around, looking for the source of it. Seeing nothing, he nervously returned to his chair.

Glowing darker and more powerfully than ever before, Darkness sent a ripple across space again. So now the end was near.

Buu looked toward Babidi quizzically, then began bouncing up and down.

"Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi! Hi!" he kept repeating it, jiggling happily. Babidi looked surprised, but regained control of himself.

"Well, hello Buu. I'd like to see a demonstration of your power." Maybe this wasn't the right spirit, maybe he had accidently summoned something weak that wouldn't help him overcome the galaxy.

"Ok!" Buu squealed, "fun-fun!"

Turning he raised a pudgy hand toward an empty city on the horizon. A giant blast flew from his hand, and the city was no more. Babidi's eyes widened, but he was now fully convinced that this was indeed Evil, just in a much more controlled form. Perfect.

"Now, let's go to the city and show those fools a thing or two!"

"Yay!" Babidi jumped on Buu's back, and the monster began flapping his arms wildly. Surprisingly, Buu actually lifted from the ground and began moving towards the city.

"Buu is a birdy, Buu is a birdy!"

Just then two streaks ran from the city and appeared in their way. They stopped and revealed two warriors, a Namek and a human. Babidi smiled; it would be a perfect test of Buu's power. He ordered the monster to stop. No longer flapping, the monster fell and hit the ground hard. Cushioned from the fall by Buu, Babidi leaped to his feet and laughed at the two warriors.

"You two stand no chance against Buu! Surrender now or prepare to die!"

"Never," the human said. "We are the two strongest warriors on this planet; there is no way we will let you do anything."

"Buu, destroy them!"

"Buu's poor head hurt!"

Staggering to his feet, Buu looked quizzically at the two before him, then began cartwheeling around in circles.

"Happy! Happy!"

They were both stunned, and Babidi was outraged.

"Buu, you idiot! Destroy them!"

"Alright." Stopping, Buu looked at them, and smirking, they both charged. They were nowhere near him when Buu vanished and appeared above them. Two kicks sent them flying backward. The human didn't rise, and the Namek staggered to his feet.

"You'll pay for this!" he roared, powering up. "Die!"

A bolt of ki shot out from him, but Buu's hand came up and the bolt merely bounced off it harmlessly. The antenna on Buu's forehead leaned forward, and a red streak shot from it. Unable to dodge, the Namek was suddenly transformed into a large piece of chocolate. Skipping over, Buu stuffed the entire thing into his mouth and smiled happily.

"Way to go, Buu!" Babidi cheered, his confidence in his pet restored. "Now, let's destroy the city!"

"I think not."

"What?" He realized it was not Buu's voice.

Turning, Babidi saw a light shine down onto the ground, then condense into a multitude of figures. All looked grim. Trying to count them, Babidi quickly gave up. The frontmost one spoke again, he was a dark green, with a turban and brown gi. Pakihaun looked on expressionlessly.

"That foolish saiyan has wasted enough of your time for us to come in. We are the Warriors of the Afterlife, and we've been training since the day we died. Now, it is our mission to destroy you and the Evil that you represent."

"No! You can't do that! Buu, kill them!"

"What?" Buu was bending over, looking at a flower. Growling, Babidi yelled at him, and Buu straightened. Seeing the warriors there, he happily clapped his hands together.

"Attack!" Babidi screamed, and both sides did just that. They clashed together and there was a whirlwind of movement. Soon, however, it appeared obvious that the fight was one-sided. Buu was taking out warriors right and left, with little effort of his own. Their leader dealt him a hard kick on the head, but Buu merely knocked him away. When the dust cleared, Buu alone stood. His body had many dents in it, but there were no more opponents left. Breathing deeply, the dents in Buu suddenly filled out, leaving him looking unharmed.

"Yummy!" Buu began transforming the fallen enemies into various types of candy and eating them. Suddenly a green form slashed in and sent him flying. Pakihaun stood there, looking angry. Buu got up again and looked at him quizzically.

"You've proved your strength," the leader said, "but it doesn't matter."

Taking off his turban and ripping off his outer gi, he smiled. As they hit the ground, they crashed heavily, proving they were weighted cloths of the highest caliber.

"I am Pakihaun, and I will destroy you!"

Leaping forward, he began hitting Buu from every direction. At first Buu managed to block his blows, but soon he fell behind and more began slamming into him. Pakihaun continued hitting him, ending with a punch that shoved its way into Buu's stomach. The monster fell, and Pakihaun jumped back.

"No Buu! You can't be dead!" Babidi was hysterical, but then the pink blob shifted. Getting up, Buu breathed in deeply again and filled out every wound on his body. Happily bouncing up and down, he hurled himself forward, headbutting Pakihaun into the ground.

"Yes! That's the way, Buu! I knew he couldn't beat you!"

From behind, Pakihaun attacked again, sending Buu crashing down into the ground. Skidding to a halt, Buu turned and swiped at him, but Pakihaun ducked beneath the blow and caught his arm. Hurling Buu downward, Pakihaun crashed into him with all his might. As he floated back up, he was surprised to see Buu come up with him, knocking him into the sky.

Appearing atop his opponent, Buu knocking Pakihaun down, then began bouncing on him. Getting battered into the ground repeatedly with each blow, Pakihaun looked defeated. But he had strength greater than they had imagined, and his hand came up, blasting Buu back up into the air again.

Powering up, Pakihaun began launching hundreds of blasts toward Buu, who danced around merrily, avoiding every one of them. When the rain of destruction stopped, Buu grabbed part of his stomach and literally pulled it out. As Pakihaun gaped, Buu hurled it at him. The pink blob wrapped around Pakihaun, sending him to the ground. Running over to him, Buu sat down on Pakihaun and began making faces at him. After a short while, he began punching Pakihaun on either side of the head.

After taking a beating for a while, Pakihaun pulled more strength from somewhere and burst out, sending Buu screaming backward. Rushing to him, Pakihaun slammed him over and over, finally tossing him away. Again Buu merely puffed his wounds out again, now merely drained from the fighting. Before he could attack, Pakihaun fired one giant blast toward him, and the solid bolt of ki ripped through Fat Buu, leaving a giant hole through his middle. The monster slowly fell to the ground.

"No!" Babidi screamed. "This is impossible! Buu, get up again, you can't lose!"

To their surprise, Buu did stagger to his feet, a giant hole through most of his body. Still, the hole began to close over, and in a few seconds Buu looked as he had before. Pakihaun gaped, and Buu's antenna reached towards him, firing a red blast. Putting up a shield, Pakihaun blocked it, and Buu screamed angrily. As his hands came forward, the largest blast Babidi had ever seen was hurled from Buu's hands, and it struck Pakihaun directly. When Buu halted the blast, nothing remained.

Standing there, cape fluttering in the wind, Buu merely gazed at where Pakihaun had been. Babidi cackled in delight.

"You did it! You beat them all! Now there's nothing to stand in our way!" Buu didn't turn around, and Babidi became annoyed again. "Why won't you listen to me? I am your master, you must listen to me!"

When no response came, Babidi's temper raised to another level. "Obey me now! Do you want to go back inside your ball again?"

"Shut up, you fool." Buu's voice had changed; it was much deeper and had a quality that chilled Babidi to the marrow. Babidi failed to see it, but Darkness surrounded Buu's being, seeping into him.

"Don't tell me to shut up! I will tell you to shut up! Speak back to me again and you will regret it!"

Buu turned, and Babidi gasped. His eyes were glowing a solid red, Buu smiled a small and much more evil smile and began walking toward him. Babidi instantly began casting his spell to return him to captivity, but it had absolutely no effect on the monster, who continued walking toward him.

"What? How can this be!" Babidi wailed, wringing his hands.

"Idiot." Buu looked down at him with an air of superiority. "These warriors and this fight gave me enough energy to escape from these pathetic bonds you tried to implement. Dai Kioshin would have ended your control in a few minutes anyway. You were a fool to try and use Darkness to conquer the galaxy."

Before Babidi could say anything else, Buu's mouth widened and he stuffed the sorcerer inside whole. His screams and complaints could be heard for a long time after that, then they suddenly ceased. Buu smiled, then lifted into the air and faced toward the last occupied city. Energy crackled in his hands as he prepared to destroy it, but then something rammed into him from behind and he went tumbling.

Goku stood there, and for an instant their eyes met, then they both attacked each other without a single word.

Dai Kioshin grimaced and turned away from the scene below. Buu was stronger than he had first guessed, and now his timetable was being pressed. What he really needed was the Legendary One right then. As soon as they came to power he could turn off the medallion so they could defeat Buu, then turn it on to put them in a weakened state, then his plan would work. But now he was missing a crucial component.

And Goku involved could only make things worse. The last thing he needed was for the saiyan to muck up his plans again. He couldn't beat Evil, but if he did enough damage the Legendary One could kill him easily, then Dai Kioshin's plan would be ruined. Clenching his fists, he watched carefully. Now there was time only to wait.

Until critical mass.


	53. Episode LI: Final Saga

The is the first of the revised chapters. While the process is simple, it is far more time consuming than I had initially imagined. There are a great number of author's notes I wish to make, so I will place them at the end of this document, so as to not hinder the ordinary reading of this chapter.

-

Coughing up a bit of blood, Goku got up from the ground slowly. Taking a deep breath, Buu merely popped his wounds out again and smiled evilly. He'd been fighting this monster for a while, and had quickly come to realize it was ridiculously powerful. The fact that it was impossible to critically injure it didn't help in the slighest. Powering up, Goku went Super Saiyan and prepared to continue the fight. For a moment Buu looked puzzled, his fat pink face screwing up as he saw Goku glowing and fully healed.

"Who are you?" Goku asked calmly, gathering energy. Assuming that he currently felt all of Buu's power, it was still superior to him in most aspects. In Super Saiyan 2 he might be able to defeat it, but for the moment he wanted to conserve energy.

"They have called me many names since the dawn of time. Most recently I have been called the Evil." The voice didn't match the fat pink body, creating an extremely disturbing effect. "I am the purest manifestation of Darkness ever to exist... or at least I was until my form was corrupted."

"You aren't like the others," Goku observed. "Not like Shade and Eclipse."

"I am not," Buu admitted. "The entity that is most truly known as Darkness has done a great many things in this world. The manifestations you speak of were a failed attempt. Until recently, it had been assumed that this, an actual corporal body, was also a failure, as it was locked away by the Kioshins.

"It seems, however, that time causes even the ruler of the galaxy to forget how destructive darkness can be. Dai Kioshin was fool enough to let Babidi on Earth to summon me, thinking he could control my power. All his plans are about to come crashing down around him. To think that I am limited to merely this body would be infantile. The very essence of this reality is mine."

"And what are you trying to do? What can you gain from all this?"

"What can I gain? The question is irrelevant. My goal is to destroy the galaxy in its totality, at first in spirit and now physically. This goal is not motivated by some desire, it is simply a part of what I am. In the same way as you strive to save existence, I seek to destroy it. Because of this," Buu dropped to a fighting stance, fingers tightening so hard they vibrated, "I cannot allow you to interfere."

Abruptly pushing off the air, Buu shot a fist barely past Goku's head. Moving his entire body with the dodge, Goku smashed a massive kick into the pink monster's side, sending him hurtling through the air. Shrugging off the damage in mid fall, the monster twisted and blasted forward directly at Goku. This, at least, the saiyan had been fully prepared for. Concentrating all his built up energy in one palm, Goku smashed it directly into his opponent's stomach.

Stumbling backward with a hole through his body, Buu was unable to defend himself as Goku jabbed his foot into the wound and then ripped it out through Buu's side. Continuing to spin, he smashed his other leg into the side of Buu's head, sending him hurtling backward and crashing deeply into the ground.

Rolling back, Buu flipped himself to his feet With a twisted smile he healed the wounds in his body. Deeply Goku sighed, realizing the extent of Buu's regenerative ability. Both of them knew that he was the inferior warrior at the moment. His only goal was to burn enough of Buu's energy now that he could defeat him in Super Saiyan 2. But it was currently impossible for him to defeat the monster.

Despite himself, Goku grinned. Impossible was just a word. This fight could prove to be most enjoyable.

.

Rumbling, the gates of the Afterlife began to slowly creak open. Warriors awaited on the other side, glad for an opportunity to wreck their destruction upon the planet. So intent were they upon the gate that none of them noticed tendrils of darkness slipping silently over the ground. Each tendril slid up the side of a different warrior, vanishing within them.

Another manifestation of Darkness smirked slightly. So many years had been spent carefully manufacturing all of these individuals into the perfect instruments of destruction. Many of them were weak, insignificant compared to the battle going on in the heavens, but that was beside the point. All of them had slowly been twisted, been corrupted, made into the perfect receptacles for Darkness. As soon as they were free, they would propagate Darkness to the entire world.

Even if Goku did manage to defeat the impure incarnation of Darkness, it would be too late. The shadow within the hearts of the galaxy would spread, and within hours would reach critical mass. It was only a matter of time until Darkness itself reigned in the galaxy. Then it would take only a single moment, a fraction of a second, and the very Darkness would consume the galaxy.

Vegita and Trunks exchanged glances, ready to destroy the world as soon as they got out. The two giant golden gates parted to either side. Free! Finally free! A rage burned deep within Vegita that he did not know he possessed. Yes, anger toward Kakkarot, yes, anger toward the cursed android, but never this hatred toward all of mankind.

Framed in the golden doorway, Piccolo and 18 waited silently as the warriors rushed forward. Restraining his anger, Vegita moved back with Trunks and Gohan. From the corner of his eye, Vegita noticed their shadows seemed a bit odd... but no, they shouldn't have any shadows at all, not here in a place of light. But at the moment that was irrelevant.

"Let the others try to beat them first," Vegita muttered, "wait till they get tired out, then finish them."

The other two saiyans nodded. They allowed the others to rush on Piccolo and 18 at full speed.

Piccolo saw Raditz coming for him before any of the others. Fitting indeed. The saiyan did a flying head butt, and crashed headlong into the Namek, who didn't budge. Taking Raditz' hair in his hands, Piccolo kneed him in the chest to the ground. Raditz growled and tried to push him off, but couldn't. Letting him get away, Piccolo allowed the giant blast the saiyan fired to hit him.

"Repaying me for that dust I gave you?" Piccolo asked, smiling slightly as smoke evaporated from his body. "Well, really, I insist- you keep it!"

Raising his hands, energy collected swiftly then rushed through Raditz, leaving nothing remaining. Piccolo turned to meet his next foe, his face serene. They seemed unnaturally strong and bloodthirsty... almost like something wasn't quite right. Their portion of reality seemed... slanted. But there was no more time to think as several warriors leaped upon him at once.

18 first met head on with a large fat pink monster. He charged forward, but 18 caught his head in one hand and punted him into the air. Dodoria flailed around, then 18 leaped into the air. First getting grazed as 18 came up, he took another hit as she came back down with a knee to his back. Dodoria got pushed all the way to the ground, where he crashed unmoving in a pink heap, which was soon erased from existence.

Zarbon leaped forward, and actually got within a few feet of Piccolo before the Namek calmly smacked him on the side of the head. Whirling in a circle, Piccolo landed a spinning kick that sounded a painful crack on Zarbon's head. The changeling fell to the ground, then jumped back up, transforming into his monstrous form once again. Piccolo merely waited and allowed Zarbon to hit him directly. Clutching his hand, Zarbon sank to the ground, where Piccolo kicked through him with his full power, sending him into the gates, where both parts of him disappeared.

18 saw her next opponent was a bald saiyan. Not one she recognized either, meaning he couldn't have been on the planet when she had destroyed it. A quick glance at her files registered him as Nappa, one of the saiyans Goku had fought on Earth.

"You're going down, pretty girl!" Nappa roared, charging her. Tightening her eyes, 18 dodged his punch and slammed him against the ground as hard as she could. He vanished.

"Weakling," 18 muttered. Turning, she and Piccolo slapped a high five and waited for the next set of warriors. From the bodies of the fallen warriors, a faintly shimmering mist continued to rise...

.

Skidding through the ground on his head for quite some time, Goku's momentum was eventually overcome and his body crashed into the ground. Painfully he struggled to move, ignoring the pain that screamed at him from every inch of his body. This phase was almost over. If he kept this up for very much longer he would die.

Spinning rapidly, Goku tunneled back into the ground. Hanging overhead Buu saw his maneuver and attempted to smash the ground apart, but was already too late. Landing on the pile of rubble, Buu concentrated and tried to find Goku's ki. It was not long before he found it... in the form of a fist striking the back of his head. Blows rained down on him from behind, weak and in such multitudes that it made Buu stumble forward. Gritting his teeth, Buu whirled, fist aiming to taking Goku's head off.

His punch was fast, faster than the saiyan could have dodged. However, Goku had no intention whatsoever of dodging the attack. The punch was not faster than his transformation to the ascended level of Super Saiyan. Golden energy exploded around Goku, blowing off half of Buu's body. Focusing, Buu brought the scattered remnants of his being back together, just in time for a fist to bury itself in his face.

Falling back, Buu mentally struggled with a new feeling. For the first time, he sensed an energy signature stronger than his own. In this new form Goku had a great deal of new energy... too much for him to handle. No! This couldn't be happening! Even polluted like this he should have been more than a match for any being!

Spinning in midair, Buu lashed out two kicks toward Goku. Weaving with new speed, Goku easily evaded both attacks. Extending his legs, Buu jerked them back slightly lower, sending his limbs wrapping around Goku's body. Immediately the saiyan counterattacked, spinning rapidly. Pulling along for the ride, Buu whirled about Goku once before the other warrior instantly changed the direction of his spin, smashing a kick almost through him.

Force of the blow forcing Buu back into his normal state, the monster barely had time to blast off from the ground before Goku's punch smashed into it. Smashing his palms together in midair, Buu began gathering energy. Narrowing his eyes, Goku realized that it was becoming more refined. For the first time the monster realized a serious threat to its existence and was fighting back accordingly. Leaping into the air once more, Buu gathered power around himself and Goku sensed it becoming more refined. There was a burst of light that he closed his eyes against, and then Buu faced him, teeth clenched, eyes seething.

"This is foolish. No matter how much power it gives you, no mere transformation can hope to defeat me!" Buu growled, seeming to resize up his opponent.

"You do not understand the scope of my power," Goku said simply. He held up a hand, and suddenly a stream of invisible ki lashed out, causing a gash to appear across Buu's body. Grimacing, Buu concentrated and healed the cut, but doubt was evident in his eyes.

Blasting off the ground at an angle, Buu came flying for him at full speed. Goku built up all his ki inside him and held out a hand in front of him just as his opponent struck. Buu's head hit the hand and his body scrunched up oddly after him as his excess momentum compiled him together. Spinning before the pink monstrosity could reform himself, Goku smashed his other elbow into Buu, dashing him several feet into the ground. Going slightly airborne, Goku began raining down kicks on the fallen warrior.

Abruptly Buu shattered, pink remnants flying throughout the area. Immediately they covered Goku and began to squeeze. Sending out his aura in spikes all over his body, Goku shredded the blob surrounding him. Not nearly good enough. Then for the first time Goku noticed that he had been covered by only a thin layer... where was the rest of Buu?

The remnants flew through the air at high speed, quickly catching up to the fleeing monster. So it had been no more than a distraction. Shifting to the most maintainable level of power, Goku flew after his opponent. He was gaining until Buu began to open dark portals and slip through them. Doing his best to follow each energy signal, Goku managed to stay with him, but eventually was lost amid the portals.

Screeching to a halt in midair, Goku focused, sensing for his opponent's presence. There was no point in running, unless he had a way to obtain more power. Abruptly Goku felt a dark presence, and he shivered. Buu's ki was obvious, standing out darkly, but it was within a gigantic mass of Darkness covering most of a continent. It was spreading...

.

Buu laughed and flew after the fleeing Kais. Catching up to the slowest one, Buu zapped him, turning him into a chocolate. Consuming the Kai, Buu felt the pain and destruction from its death wash away a small amount of this accursed taint on his body. Nothing stopped him as he moved on to the next one, and the next. Goku got there to see Buu on the ground, stuffing his mouth with chocolates.

Though he looked foolish, Goku realized that each and every of the chocolates had been a living being. Furthermore, the pink monster was now slimmer and looked a bit nastier. His eyes were no longer red, they had become a light grey. When Goku looked at them closer, he saw Darkness surrounding Buu. Before, there had been a core of Darkness surrounded by a pinkish shell... now that shell had partially fallen away.

"Stop!" Goku yelled, thrusting out both hands and annihilating the entire city nearby. When the dust faded Buu was revealed on his feet, arms cross, a red shield glittering around him. All of the chocolates were gone now, and the creature that had been known as Buu growled at the loss of its meal.

Leaping forward with startling speed, the monster hit Goku hard across the chest. Forcing aside the pain, Goku righted himself and slugged back, but actually felt the contact when his hand hit the dark pink body. Not good. Dodging another punch and continuing to turn his opponent's blows aside, Goku gave an inward groan. Closer to his form of pure darkness, Buu had become even more powerful... more powerful than he could handle even in Super Saiyan 2.

Catching Buu's arm, Goku slammed his opponent into the ground, then swiftly stopped back as a torrent of pink rushed into the air, again reforming the monster. Once more the battle had been made hopeless. Shifting to a fighting stance, Goku prepared to continue fighting. He could do nothing else, it was his nature.

Again glancing about the area, as if after a fleeting shadow, Piccolo saw three warriors step up to him: Guldo, Burter and Jiece of the Ginyu Force. Without even speaking Guldo opened his mouth to take a breath. Smiling, Piccolo let him take the breath, waiting for time to freeze. Leaping through the air, Guldo aimed a punch directly at his opponent... and then Piccolo caught his blow.

"I gathered time for myself," Piccolo said calmly, "and I have about fifteen seconds I can use whether time flows properly or not." Even as Guldo let out his breath in a gasp, Piccolo had already smashed a hand into him, sending him hurtling through the air, already fading from existence.

Whirling around, Piccolo kicked Jiece, who was leaping for him. Jiece started hopping and flipping around him, Piccolo joined in an odd battle. It seemed almost like the most stupid dance in the world, both careening about with no apparent aim. After a few seconds on the inanity, Jiece fell to the ground completely dead, vanishing from the universe.

"I am again the fastest warrior in the universe!" Burter roared. "Feel my speed!"

To Piccolo, it seemed as though Burter was inching forward, crawling over space at an infinitely slow rate. Running up to him, Piccolo ran around him dozens of times before Burter got one foot down. The explosion from such speed catapulted Burter into the air, where he was picked off by a swirling beam from Piccolo.

18 saw two more ugly aliens facing her now, but really didn't have much time for them. There was something else, another ki forming in the area. It alone seemed somewhat dangerous. Flitting before the bulkier of the two aliens, she landed a blow to his chin, sending him up into the air. Catching the nearly dead alien as he fell on top of her, 18 blasted a hole through Recoome's stomach, sending him to vanish as well. The other alien had taken the time to get behind 18, and attacked swiftly, only to run directly into her flying elbow.

Wiping off blood from his mouth, Captain Ginyu appeared to take a deep breath... and then suddenly a blast exploded from his mouth.

"Change!"

The blast sped forward, blasting toward 18 at point blank range. Scanning the attack, 18 discerned what manner of energy it was and then refined her own energy to another frequency. When the blast struck her it immediately reflected, entering Captain Ginyu's mouth. He let out a terrible cry that slowly became warped as his body twisted, dried up and then vanished completely.

Both of 18's eyebrows shot up. That, she had not expected. Turning to see who was going to try and fight her next, 18 felt something at her back too late too avoid it. A massive body grabbed her from behind, driving her toward the ground. Surprised, 18 glanced down and realized the hands holding her were those of Android 16. Interesting. Unfortunately for him, it was a relatively simple matter for her to twist out of his grip and leap away. He landed on his feet with surprising agility.

"You have deserted Gero," 16 intoned, "you will die."

"Actually, I have an issue with that whole dying thing," 18 told him, without much interest.

"The files are quite clear: I was created with greater power than you." 16 flew forward, only to take a hard backhand from 18. He staggered back for a moment but still fell to the ground.

"And my power can be raised," 18 returned, stepping in front of him. 16 took off his hands and yelled. The hundreds of blasts arced toward 18, crossing the distance between them in a fraction of an instant. Not fast enough. Holding up her hands in the stream of attacks, 18 curved them, the energy bullets being launched curved across her hands and flew back at 16. The upper half of his body exploded, leaving the rest to fade away.

Frowning, 18 remained looking at the place where he had been some time. Why had he still existed? As mere robot he should have had no spirit, nothing to remain in the Afterlife. Something like a shadow slipped away from where he had been, but this time she saw it fully. Darkness. Before her eyes it evaporated into the air, soon diffusing into the air itself.

Curious, Piccolo glanced about the battlefield? How had 16 been here, anyway? When the gates had first opened he hadn't noticed them, so perhaps that meant he had arrived by other means. Hearing the sound of someone landing behind him, Piccolo turned and immediately smiled: just the large white fat guy he wanted to see. Android 19 zoomed forward to meet him. Piccolo slipped left, grabbed him by the back of his shirt and hurled him into the ground. They fought, Piccolo dodging everything thrown at him, and at last the white android backed up.

"You cannot defeat me!" he squeaked, making Piccolo grimace.

"I really hate that voice," Piccolo snapped, eyes narrowing. Abruptly he vanished, leaving 19 to squeak in confusion. The Namek appeared behind the android and calmly lay a hand on his shoulder... and then his ki exploded, ripping apart the mechanical components that made up the android, sending them scattering to the ground. They faded almost immediately, leaving a vaguely smoky residue.

Darkness. Piccolo's eyes widened slightly. Abruptly the shadows leapt from the ground, toward him, trying to batter their way inside his mind. Barely he threw up mental shields in time, forcing the Darkness to stay just centimeters from his head. He must have left himself open to it somehow, been too careless with his emotions. Gritting his teeth, Piccolo cleared his mind of every taint of hatred, anger, pride.

When he opened his eyes they glowed a solid white. The Darkness was flung away from him, evaporating into the air like all the rest. Sensing a ki blazing through the air toward him, Piccolo turned to face it. He seemed to move almost slowly, as if through a thick liquid. His eyes still glowing white, he saw King Cold through different eyes. For a brief moment he was very sorry for the twisted, evil being that now attacked him. Bringing a hand down on the head of Frieza's father, Piccolo ended the wretched life instantly.

Something strange was going on. 18 saw Piccolo's battle with Darkness, but wasn't sure she comprehended all the ramifications of it. Her eyes glowed when his own did, though with less intensity. Abruptly it was as if her senses were enhanced. Though she could see the area around her, she saw it as if through the looking glass of herself. There was Darkness attached to her, Darkness that originated from behind her.

Turning, 18 found herself face to face with Cell. He rushed on her, tail poised, looking ready to destroy the world. She didn't care. All of his evil ambitions seemed to dissolve in her mind, as if they were as worthless as mere chaff. Grabbing his tail, 18 whipped him around her head and threw him into the wall. Still retaining a great deal of his power, Cell pushed off the wall and flew back at her, but 18 met him directly with a palm to the chin. Taking an uppercut that sent him flying, Cell gasped as he realized that 18 had vanished from the ground completely.

He felt a cool hand on his tail a second later. Frantically he turned, but he was too late. 18 ripped his tail from its socket, then sent an electrical burst over the wound. She did not attack further as he collapsed to the ground. Grunting, Cell tried to regrow his tail and discovered it was completely impossible. The wound had already been-

Then 18's hand emerged from his back. From her arm white flames licked over his body, spreading down his limbs and soon enveloped him. Every atom in his body was consuming by the leaping flames, which faded from existence even as he did. 18 remained where he had stood for a long time, contemplating the destruction of the villain. No more than a pawn, really. Nothing compared to Darkness.

"Even children, Darkness?" Piccolo asked softly, raising an eyebrow at the young Trunks standing before him. "How swiftly humanity allows you a foothold in their world."

The small Trunks leapt forward, but Piccolo easily caught his head, letting the young warrior swing wildly in midair. Flying back a short distance, Trunks pulled a large sword from his back. Since when had he gotten that, Piccolo wondered? In any case, he easily caught the blade in three fingers when it swung for his head. Tightening his hand, Piccolo snapped the sword in two.

For a moment Trunks gaped in midair, and Piccolo merely stared back at him. Then the young boy's face became a snarl and Piccolo sighed. Pure white light shot from his eyes, and Piccolo violently jerked his head to the left, sending the beams through the half saiyan's body. He was gone before he struck the ground. The air around them was thick with wisps of Darkness.

.

Falling from the sky toward the ground, Goku managed to get an arm beneath him, begin a flip to return him to his feet. Midway through the maneuver Buu smashed into him from above, embedded him firmly in the ground. Completely sure of his victory, Buu laughed slightly. During the battle the last remnants of the shell that had surrounded him had fallen away, leaving only Darkness.

Springing off the ground, Goku kicked as hard as he was able, but Buu caught his foot inches from his face. Immediately Goku shot out his other leg, slamming Buu in the chin. The monster stumbled back, took Goku's energy bolt as the saiyan rose to his feet, then calmly shrugged off both attacks and batted his opponent across the city. Destroying several buildings as he skidding, Goku stopped and realized that this time he could get up.

Soon Buu was hovering in the air over him, quickly finding his body and landing by it mockingly. Darkness was arcing around him dangerously. There was definitely no remainder of the shell left. To his horror, Goku realized that even though the shell was gone, the monster was still at less than full power.

"You've done well, but only the Legendary One can defeat Evil itself," Buu rumbled, voice making a mockery of the legend. "Of course, you understand how worthless Dai Kioshin's ramblings are. Darkness will not be stopped by _any_ force. But still, you have fought me for a long time, and only now have I managed to defeat you. Thus you earn a short, if painful, death."

Buu's hand came down, blunt fist sharpening into a deadly spike. At moments like this, Goku had always thought he would see his life flash before his eyes. Strangely enough, not a single thing he had done came back to him; all he could think about was everyone who was counting on him, all the things that would happen to him if he did not stop the spread of Darkness. Images flickered across his mind, of Piccolo, of 18, of the planet filled with human beings who would never get another chance if he failed. Before Buu's hand could bridge the distance, another transformation took place. Power never seen before in the galaxy erupted, sending Buu flying back. Goku got up, energy flowing around him.

His eyebrows disappeared, his hair started growing, rippling down his back and then tightening into golden spikes. Frantically Buu smashed a fist into Goku's jaw, sending him into the sky , but the saiyan was already breaking into the next level. Not about to let Goku reach a new level of power, Buu charged forward, focusing his power in his arms and aiming to rip the saiyan in half.

Energy arced around Goku, slicing the pink blob to ribbons, throwing him back and forcing him to waste time reforming himself. The sky darkened, blue electricity flew down to strike Goku, forming a blue wall around him. Everything grew whiter and whiter, blinding even the monster, and then there was an all-encompassing flash.

Goku stood, a maelstrom of energy surrounding him, self-generated electricity bursting out in spurts across his body. He was undeniably a Super Saiyan 3. With an eldritch roar Buu attacked at full strength, but Goku was gone and behind him instantly, smashing into him with new power. From his blow electricity burst violently, and Buu was sent crashing into the ground.

Picking himself up, Buu took a swipe at Goku and hit only air. He didn't even have time to gap before a foot hit him from behind, sending him flying. As he tumbled a violently spinning shot sliced through him, forcing him to remake himself once again. When he had repaired his body, he found he couldn't see Goku anywhere. The next instant he felt a large ki directly behind him, but it was too late. In one smooth motion the saiyan spun repeatedly, each and every blow nearly ripping through Buu.

Growling, Buu launched power around him in a scarlet column, but Goku leaped back, avoiding it entirely, then kneed Buu in the head while he was vulnerable. Flying backward, Buu launched a maelstrom of blasts toward his opponent, none of which made contact as the saiyan dodged and wove with unnatural grace. Curling into a ball and flipped forward, Goku span toward Buu, who frantically fired more blasts at him. All of them were deflected away by the rapid spinning, and Goku crossed the distance between them in a flash. As he spun his hair whirled repeatedly, shredding Buu's body.

Reforming himself as fast as possible, Buu punched toward Goku's face. A hand closed down over his wrist with painful strength. Gasping in pain, Buu shrugged off the damage and sent another beam at Goku's face at point blank range. When the blast faded, it revealed that Goku had pulled his head all the way back, narrowly avoiding the attack. Now as his head came up his hands met on Buu's stomach.

Blue energy exploded through the monster, Goku's Kamehameha sending him down to a faintly visible cloud of pink. For the first time ever, thoughts of doubt ran through Buu's mind. How could he be beaten? Was Goku's determination really strong enough to overcome this manifestation? At the moment it appeared that it was. If this battle continued, he would lose the entire war. Only if this battle continued.

Reforming himself, Buu threw out his arms and an explosion of Darkness ripped through the heavens. Around Buu the sky seemed to burst into flame, faint yellow light being ripped away and leaving only darkness. Bitterly cold winds howled and shook the very foundations of reality. When the blast faded, there remained a massive hole in existence that was slowly repairing itself... but Buu was gone.

The very ground crumbled beneath the Super Saiyan 3's wrath.

-

Regarding what I meant by "critical mass:" I was using the definition indicating the point at which various circumstances reach a point at which things are irrevocably changed, as coined by Isaac Asimov. When looking for this, it is quite important to think metaphysically.

I am glad there is actually curiosity about the identity of the Legendary One, if such even exists. As we've seen, much of the legends regarding evil were no more than lies that even Dai Kioshin made himself believe.

My thanks to Syn Shenron, for proving that it is a good thing to accept anonymous reviews. I will do my best to respond to your questions as I am able. As for the site's HTML standards... I am annoyed that they choose this cumbersome method, so I will utilize your suggestion.

In regard to a number of issues (the child, a "small act," what went wrong, etc), remember to think less literally and more symbolically. Beyond that I will say nothing more, and allow you to reach your own conclusions. My story is not necessarily something that should be entirely explained in specific terms, but I trust that intelligent readers such as yourself are capable of handling it.

Regarding the number of chapters... there are no longer fifty two. Due to a number of unexpected issues with the plot, there are fifty four episodes. All four of these will be rewritten.

Our unnamed human and Namekiian are both simply unnamed, unimportant characters. Hercule is alive and well, as you will see relatively soon. Neither of them will have any impact on the story, nor did they have any true impact. However, I thought that it would be reasonable that humanity would develop more than one hero (considering that they consider Goku and 18 to be monsters).

A final note of clarification regarding Kais, Kioshins, Kaioshins, Kaeioushins, etc: There is no quality reason for the change outside of being an indicator of the fact that my system is different. There are a great many Kais (as it is now a race), though only four serve as the cardinal directions. I apologize for not having a more interesting explanation.

However, it will be much more enjoyable to answer the question about Buu. In my worldset there is no Virtuous Buu, nor even Fat Buu. The original Buu fought in the prolog was another effect by Darkness to alter reality. In this chapter Buu explains that he differs from the various forms of Darkness manifest we have seen (Shade, Eclipse, etc). The primary difference is that he has a physical body and mind: these can operate without Darkness. With Darkness in control, however, Buu is much more powerful. What we see as Fat Buu is merely Buu bound by magic that reduces his power and malevolence.

To the person reviewing chapter two: I am uncertain when you will see this, but you demanded an explanation, and in this situation such is quite simple. The question, for any others who may be reading, was why I stated that Vegita created the Oozaru moon sphere when Vegita explains in one episode that Bardock did so. My reason is quite simple: this was added needlessly in the anime as a nod to the Bardock Special. In the original, Vegita had developed the technique, and the character of Bardock never existed.

My thanks to the other new reviewer leaving a rather detailed review. I am glad that you find my fanfiction as deep as you do, but I am afraid you are overthinking in regard to your first question. What you ask is not unreasonable, but cannot be effective answered. When I wrote this I was a great deal younger than I currently am: while throwing around philosophy was simple for me at the time, I was not so proficient at putting together a completely coherent plot. In this case, I must beg the thirty-first amendment (suspension of disbelief).

As for challenges... here I wish to needlessly disagree. Goku's need to be challenged is actually sufficiently sated by fighting with 18, but that is beside the point. He was severely challenged several times throughout the story. The mere fact that he overcame all challenges does not decrease their difficulty. I will admit, however, that he generally does better than his canon counterpart, as he is usually one step ahead in power.

Frieza was annihilated when Goku reached Super Saiyan, so if you wish to argue that it was not a challenge, you are justified. King Cold and company were likewise inferior. The androids did provide a serious challenge, as evidenced by Goku's major loss. Upon returning from the soul-destroying "heart" disease, he was actually heavily challenged in the battle between Cell and the new wave of androids. He very nearly died during the conflict.

I will give you that because Cell granted Goku time to train, he was no longer really a challenge to the ascended saiyan. Had Goku not reached Super Saiyan 2, he would have been severely tested by the returned Cell, but it is by large a moot point. Again, I would agree that Goku had the entire Android World Saga in hand. His power might have been lower, but he was still capable of matching what came his way.

Total Eclipse, though, very nearly killed him. But for a last minute transformation into Light Super Saiyan (courtesy of Piccolo and 18), Goku would have been finished. Even without the links to good and evil, Goku in Super Saiyan 2 would have had a difficult time defeating Eclipse in his final form. All the tournament, of course, was effortless.

However, let me assure you that Goku will be challenged more in this last saga than he has been his entire life. There is a great deal of power being thrown about in the finale of my story, and a great deal of it eclipses his own. More is yet to come, on a great many different fronts. There should be no more "ho hum" chapters, even using such broad definitions.


	54. Episode LII: Final Saga

The rewriting is finished (the task which absorbed the weeks in which I have not updated), and required slight modifications to the chapter breaks involved. However, there should be no further delays in the release of the four final chapters.

It is good to hear that someone enjoyed the reappearances of the villains of the series (which will continue and conclude within this chapter). I had very seriously considered eliminating the scene entirely, as it was one of the oldest and not high on my personal list. Instead I chose another route, and it appears to be a positive thing that I did so.

My pen name, to respond to a review, must be read as a single unit "uncreative pseudonym." One of the few positive adjectives I would attribute to myself is creative; my pen name is an aspect of that, not a contradiction. Though I do love paradoxes.

Someone predicted a death and I decided to be cryptic and actually address the issue. The truth of the given statement depends entirely upon what is meant by the word death. For a being to go to the Afterlife... well, everyone is already there and matters precious little in Dragonball Z. For a being to be terminated... another issue entirely. For a being to change irreversably so that the old is destroyed... quite different. That response was relatively lengthy for how little information it passed along.

-

Episode LII: Final Saga

Just beneath the highest level of reality, placed on a plane that touched edges with Dai Kioshin's planet, the Great Temple of the Kioshins rested silently. Only the most holy of spirits were ever permitted to even touch the ground upon which the Great Temple was built. Even those spirits were ordered to remain away from the gigantic structure that was the Great Temple.

Certain Kioshins, those of the highest rank and lineage, were permitted to walk within the outer courtyard of the Temple, which expanded for kilometers. Once per year, the highest of the Kioshins of the Priestly Order was allowed to enter the Great Temple itself, though only for a time. That was where the four greatest Kioshins of the Godly order walked every day, and the very ground was said to be holy. Legend had it that even a stone from the Great Temple could cure any wound. Though many had tried to obtain such a stone, none had survived long enough to verify the claim.

The central building of the Great Temple was a massive, arching dome. Though the outside of the dome glittered white in the constant light of the Afterlife, the inside was more glorious still. Stained glass windows surrounded the podium that was at the center of the Great Temple, showing the deeds done by the greatest heros of the realms. There, a massive square of solid stone sat, taking up almost the entire Great Temple.

Carved onto each side of the square was a large throne, one pointing in each of the cardinal directions. Upon each a Kioshin sat, staring into the direction they were assigned to watch over. A level higher than all the other thrones, nearly brushing the ceiling, sat the largest throne of all. This throne was empty, and only on the sacred day of the year did Dai Kioshin preside upon it.

Energy crackled within the temple, disturbing the unnatural silence. All four Kioshins immediately turned their attention to the source, a dark point of light that sizzled with power near the center point of the entire dome. Before they could move to investigate, the power disbanded, instead flooding down all the walls. Swiftly a coat of black energy covered all of the stained glass windows and the entrance.

It could be seen through, like dark glass, but what was on the other side was terrible distorted. Each of the noble events in the windows became twisted, dark versions of the former images. Heros were slaughtered, became corrupted, planets were destroyed instantly. Horrified, the Kioshins could only stare at the altered walls.

Then the black light intensified, collecting in a point directly above the seat of the largest throne. It took shape, the mere form of a person, if a person could be made entirely of Darkness. The figure sat upon the throne and began to laugh. Disturbed in soul and horrified, all four Kioshins leapt into the air as one and blasted toward the central throne, but a sphere of dark energy deflected their attacks.

Light that did little to brighten the room poured in from above as the ceiling exploded. Buu descended from above, merging through the dark sphere and bringing his form where the dark figure sat. There was a light so dark that it was blinding, and when the Kioshins could see again only one figure sat on the throne.

He was vaguely like the Buu that had been, though there was something terrible about him, an ineffable aura. All his skin was smooth and dark grey, and his form had changed. Every hint of fat or joviality was gone without a trace, leaving only a terrible apathy. The figure that remained was lean and muscular, clad in black clothing. When the monster that had been Buu opened his eyes, they were pools of endless Darkness. Where there had been a Majin symbol there was absolutely nothing.

Stepping down from the gigantic throne, the new creation turned and blasted it into nothingness. Descending, he landed lightly on the ground. For a moment the Kioshins were overcome in shock at the sight of Darkness sitting upon the throne of the galaxy, and then destroying it like a toy. All four Kioshins moved to surround him, and he calmly looked at them with burning eyes.

"What are you, monster?" the East Kioshin stammered. Instantly dark eyes fixed upon him, and he quailed beneath the terrible evil that was within them.

"This is the ultimate physical form," the creation said, more to itself than in answer to the question. "This is what I intended ages ago, with the failed Buu transformation. It is still Buu, it is merely Dark Buu." Without an expression on his face, Dark Buu flew to his right, smashing a fist entirely through West Kioshin's chest. The blow did not draw blood, instead, strands of darkness exploded from it. They quickly covered the Kioshin, spreading through him and then burning away all that remained.

Turning from the wisps of Darkness that floated in the air, Dark Buu faced the others expressionlessly. East Kioshin realized for the first time that what he was facing was pure, raw destruction. Nothing could stand up to such power. Frantically he attacked, blasting wave after wave of ki into the air. Smoke rose around the area, and East Kioshin continued blasting.

Even as he continued to fire, Dark Buu appeared behind him, then grabbed his head with one black gloved hand. For a moment the Kioshin cried out, and then he dissolved into waves of shimmering Darkness as well. Instantly the South Kioshin was attacking, striking rapidly, but Dark Buu deflected his strikes with one hand easily.

"I find this... interesting," he commented, voice unmodulated and showing no effort. "Even without my doing, Darkness is released from within you. In a metaphorical way, it was the Darkness in your hearts. In fighting me, you battle only yourselves."

Abruptly Dark Buu raised a hand, and a black blast exploded from it, encompassing South Kioshin entirely. When it passed, only wavering Darkness remained where the Kioshin had floated. Striking the dark sphere that still coated the building, the dark energy blast merely rippled along it, expanding over the sphere, which again became unearthly still. The instant the blast had touched the pedestal in the center of the room the entire block had vanished like it had never existed.

A sword sliced through Dark Buu's torso, severing him in half. Calmly turning, Dark Buu looked expressionlessly at North Kioshin, who struck again, this time his blade splitting his head in half and driving through his body. When the blade was most of the way down Dark Buu's chest, the wound it had created swiftly healed up after it. Tugging at the sword, North Kioshin discovered it was lodged in Dark Buu's heart. The monster's torso healed easily, and for a long moment Dark Buu merely stared down at the shaking Kioshin.

"Fool," he rumbled. With that word, Darkness began to creep down North Kioshin's blade. As he tried to let go of the sword, the Darkness leapt the gap to him, overcoming him entirely and destroying his being. For a moment his form writhed in agony, then it was eaten away, leaving only the Darkness, which merged into the ground. Dark Buu turned and began to walk toward the entrance.

He was midway to the door when he stopped short. Slowly he turned, and brought his eyes up to focus on Goku, who stood at the opposite side of the chamber. His hair was still long and golden, but the energy crackling around him seemed muted within the dark dome.

"Instant Transmission," Dark Buu said softly. "Faster than I had anticipated."

"You transformed again," Goku observed, just as quietly.

"Yes. I have finally created a body that will be able to hold Darkness itself. But that time is not now."

For a long moment neither of them spoke, just staring at the other across the chamber. Eventually Buu spoke again.

"You are a fool to attack me in this place, my sanctuary. Do you think you can exist here?"

In response, Goku threw back his head and let out a roar that shook the ground. Above them, the dark dome began to crack, glorious light streaming in from the small cracks that soon covered the dome. It shattered in one massive, golden flame, leaving both of them standing on a circle of stone at the center of the Great Temple. Goku's eyes were glowing a hot white.

Impassively, Dark Buu observed him for a moment, then shifted down into a fighting position. Goku did the same, facing off with the shadowy monster. Darkness began to curl around Buu erratically, at the same moment that white lightning began to arc over Goku's body. Neither of them moved for some time, just facing each other, then both leapt off the ground, flying toward the point between them.

Now came the battle of all time.

.

Just above the supernatural ceiling, Dai Kioshin let a smirk appear on his face. Dark Buu had been an unexpected development, but it would not hinder his overall plans. This battle, he was certain, Goku could not possibly win. The saiyan had already delayed everything for quite some time by being so stubborn and refusing to be beaten. Now, at last, the issue could reach its inevitable conclusion.

Other points in the scheme were growing dangerously overbalanced. The Namek and the android were causing excessive damage at the gates of the Afterlife. As long as they were held off long enough, they could not interfere. Beyond this point, it was too late for Goku. Beyond the next point, nothing Piccolo or 18 could do would matter. Beyond that, he would be unstoppable.

.

Hissing in annoyance, the manifestation of Darkness further focused its power, collecting its limited influence. There were only six left. Of the dozens of warriors crafted to destroy the planet, now only six remained. Six of the best weapons, six of the most twisted. It was there that Darkness extended itself.

How fortunate that the universe continued on such a path. Slowly with the Darkness in the hearts of every being in the galaxy the sphere of destruction had begun to form. Faster and faster it had moved, over centuries, culminating now in a terrible Darkness that would soon spread through the souls of every being in existence. Even if these six failed... a semblance of a smile floated across the nebulous manifestation's being.

"You want the three on the right?" 18 asked Piccolo lowly. He nodded.

"I really wouldn't mind taking out Gohan. But something else is up, and it makes me nervous. Stay on your guard."

"Right."

Both of them turned to the warriors that were now rushing forward. The remaining six were growling slightly, eyes blazing in anger, faces twisted in hate. By contrast, both 18 and Piccolo seemed unnaturally serene, a calm from outside their surroundings descending upon them. For a long moment there was near silence, the slight hiss of aura, and then the battle began.

Frieza dove for Piccolo first, and the Namek slid around his attack. When the changeling landed, Piccolo noted he had returned to his organic final form. There was a new layer of muscle on his body. So apparently he had not been idle in the Afterlife.

"You may have gotten power beyond what I had ever imagined, but I've only learned from you. I have discovered power greater than any changeling before me! I am again the strongest warrior in the universe!" Frieza roared, charging him the instant his monologue was complete. Piccolo dodged back out of the way, tripping him up and sending him tumbling over the ground. For the briefest of moments his white eyes flickered with amusement.

"I hate to tell you this," Piccolo ducked Frieza's swipe and knocked him off his feet, "but this isn't even the main act. This is a sideshow to the battle Goku is having." His eyes glowed brighter. "In the scheme of reality, you are no more than a tongue of flame, bursting and then fading away into nothing."

"No!" Frieza gasped, a second before Piccolo slammed a knee into his face. Frieza recovered in the air and charged at him, but it didn't matter now. With a slight sigh Piccolo caught him by the face with one hand, lifting him into the air. For a moment the former Master of the Universe struggled, and then golden flame ripped him apart from within, leaving nothing left.

Raising a forearm behind his head, Piccolo deflected a strike from Vegita. Turning swiftly, he caught the saiyan's foot as he jerked it toward his stomach. Pulling the prince from the air, Piccolo smashed a fist into Vegita's stomach and took the blow all the way to the ground, where Vegita made a small crater. An explosion of Super Saiyan light surrounded him as he took his form to the next level. Only mildly surprised, Piccolo merely pulled his hand away.

Ducking Vegita's wild swipe as he rose to his feet, Piccolo caught his arm and hurled him into a large cluster of trees. Flexing a hand, Piccolo lifted into the air after him. Everything had come shattering down around them long ago... and now it was all coming down once more.

Across the battlefield, 18 deflected two strikes flying at her head and generated a spherical shield. The energy sent both of her attackers flying back, crashing heavily into the Afterlife soil. Letting the energy dissipate, 18 merely glanced down at them as they scrambled to their feet. Two people that should have been very close to her, yet now they seemed so far away.

Android 17 recovered first and attacked. Raising a hand, 18 calmly nudged his arm, making his punch miss her head. Continuing with the motion he sent a kick flying for her head, but 18 easily wove beneath it. Doctor Gero watched the battle in amazement, unable to speak or attack. The two of them had been created equals, so long ago, but something about 18's intrinsic being had changed. Her eyes had a different slant to them, and now glowed softly. Even while not attacking her brother, 18 was proving herself far superior.

"Why did you have to make that choice?" 18 asked softly, blocking a series of swift punches. "What difference was there between us? Why did you go to the Darkness and I to the Light?"

"Darkness?" 17 hissed, halting his futile attack. "You dare to call me dark? You slaughtered nearly as many as I did. You're the one who has blithely gone about your business, acting as if none of that matters!"

Briefly 18 sighed, and a circular ripple expanded from her as she did so. "So you think I don't remember?" Her voice was quiet, barely audible, forcing 17 to strain to hear. "You think I've put all that behind me as if it never happened? Every day memories come back: breaking spines, severing arteries, pulling off fingers, puncturing lungs, gouging eyes. Those things will never go away."

"Then why do you fight against us?" 17 demanded. "In all this time you've only seen that the humans truly are evil. They believe you are a monster. Who will accept you but us?"

"Goku did," 18 answered, her eyes glowing slightly less fiercely. "He knew everything I had done and accepted me anyway."

"Enough with this," her brother snapped. "There is no doubt in my mind. The humans are inferior. They deserved to die!"

"I no longer have a brother." One moment 18 was standing across the battlefield and the next her hand was fully through 17's chest, destroying the device that had replaced his heart. The movement happened so fast it took him some time to even feel the pain, and then he faded from reality.

Gasping at the sheer speed demonstrated, Gero took a step back... and bumped into 18. Somehow her expression gave the impression that she was looking down at him from somewhere high above. His creation had ascended beyond anything he could comprehend.

"You are just as responsible for billions of deaths as I am," 18 told him calmly. "Everywhere you went you left broken and destroyed lives. Mine should have been one of those, but it wasn't."

"They des-"

"You do not have that right," 18 interrupted him, eyes flashing. "This ends now. But I want you to understand that I'm not doing this for revenge. Ironically, without you I never would have found the life that I now have. I would not trade it for anything I had before you entered my life." Her eyes hardened, intense blaze focusing down upon him. "No, this is merely the consequence of your actions. Everyone builds their lives piece by piece... and this is what you have built yourself."

Invisibly 18's hands lashed out, tearing Gero apart. Moments after his artificial body crashed to the ground, shattering into cogs and springs and scrap metal. The entire mess faded away momentarily, but 18 continued to gaze where it had been. More wafting Darkness...

"You will die!" a voice roared from behind her. Sensing a figure rushing into the attack, 18 calmly turned to face him. Trunks was running toward her at high speed, a blow poised, when her eyes locked upon his own. There was something at once serene and terrible about her glowing white eyes, and he stumbled. Sliding back away from her, he sent a Super Saiyan aura bursting around him and attacked. Sadly 18 watched, contemplating how the destruction of a monster could make one the same thing.

Catching his wrist some distance from her body, 18 flipped him aside. He caught himself in midair and turned toward her.

"You look at such lowly things," 18 told him. "On any level that truly matters, you destroyed your own world."

Roaring in anger, unheeding of her worlds, Trunks charged at her. Tightening a hand, 18 did the same.

.

With a slight cry, Goku broke off the ground, whisking forward over the streets. His first blow barely missed Dark Buu's head. Immediately a grey hand swept up to snap his extended arm. Catching it with a foot, Goku pushed the limb away while smashing his elbow into Dark Buu's face. Barely the monster fell backward, and then both its legs were sweeping up at him, kicks barely deflected.

Blows flashed between them, each point of contact sending dark and light bolts of power crackling into the air. Shockwaves broke from each blow, tearing through the surrounding buildings, ripping them apart. Cosmic power smashed together, shuddering the spirit of the planet. Massive power dwarfed all of the realm of the gods, threatening to rend it apart by its mere presence.

Meeting one of Dark Buu's kicks with his own, Goku snapped both his hands together. Blue flame was already lighting up in his palms, his attacking blasting point blank. Too late did he see Buu's hands slam together as well, dark energy generating to blow him out of the sky. Both techniques collided, and raw power exploded from the foundations of reality.

A gigantic shockwave of unnatural energy vibrated over the entire planet. Where it passed everything living dried up and wilted, glass melted, stone shook. Both warriors were thrown back from the explosion, sending each crashing on far sides of the massive Temple compound. Immediately Goku flipped to his feet and dug into the ground. Dark Buu was so far away he could no longer see him, but he could sense the malevolent evil.

Pushing off the ground, Goku blasted into the air, toward the center of the city, toward where Dark Buu was flying. Behind him pavement was torn from the street, tumbling through the air. Buildings were ripped from their foundations and sent flipping as if they were no more than toys. Dark Buu carved a similar path of destruction, and both collided with a nigh cataclysmic explosion.

Green fingers bit into Vegita's stomach, seeming to fly from nowhere. Spit flying from his mouth as the blow drove the wind out of him, Vegita was helpless to move as Piccolo grabbed the front of his armor and pulled him up to eye level. White eyes met green ones, both burning with very different lights.

"You will never be the Legendary One," Piccolo said softly, "and you'll never have a heart. The universe no longer needs you." With the words, Piccolo completed his technique. The prince of the entire saiyan race crumbled to dust that was quickly born away on the winds of the Afterlife, fading into oblivion.

"_Masenko!_"

Turning just in time to see the massive beam fly toward him, Piccolo remained as still as a statue, letting the attack pour over him. In between the gates, Gohan lowered his his hands, grinning slightly. The beam could not have killed his former master, but it had to have hurt. Now to show him where his true loyalties lay.

"You evil Namek!" Gohan yelled, rage making his eyes glitter a brighter green. "I use your own tricks against you! All you aliens will pay!"

The front of Piccolo's robe was smoking faintly, but the Namek was otherwise exactly as he had been before. A very old part of Piccolo sighed... hadn't the taught the kid to use a better Masenko than that? Gohan flipped through the air- and abruptly a fist smashed into his torso. Gohan cried out slightly in pain; it felt as if his inner body organs had been pushed to his throat. Before he could even get past the pain, Piccolo brought a backhand across his face, sending him flying once more.

Silver blade flying through the air, Trunks attacked with his full power. Before his sword could strike 18, she vanished like a shadow. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced around quickly but failed to find her. Putting the sword up on his shoulder, he prepared to bring it down in a deadly strike the instant he saw even the slightest movement.

"Ah, I was wondering about that engraving." Gasping in shock, Trunks glanced up and discovered 18 standing on the edge of his sword, examining it carefully. Pulling it away with one hand, he sent a solid blast flying toward her with the other. Sliding to the ground, 18 easily evaded the attack. His sword had obviously been reforged, and now she had been able to see the name of the engraving: Dai Kioshin.

Her blow caught him on the side of the head like a sledgehammer, sending the young half saiyan flying through the air. Regaining his focus he flew out of the way of a lancing beam she fired at him, then glanced down and considered his next strike. The next moment he could do no more than cough bloodily as 18's beam flew in the opposite direction, slicing through his chest. It returned to her hand, and her opponent dropped to the ground. Before he could even strike 18's energy consumed his body completely.

"Almost amazing," Piccolo commented, sweeping his head just back from Gohan's blow. "You get angry," he quickly drew back a foot to evade a kick, "and your power," he raised a forearm to push another punch aside, "increases exponentially." The boy flung a hand forward at Piccolo, and the Namek caught the blow easily. Gripping Gohan's hand, Piccolo moved closer to the boy's face. "But it won't matter."

Already the Super Saiyan was attacking again, and Piccolo quickly took evasive action. Pulling his head back, he let go of Gohan's fist, then grabbed his collar. The young boy struggled uselessly, trying to hit him in midair. For a moment Piccolo felt a touch of nostalgia for a simpler time. So much had been lost, so much that would never be regained again.

Feeling a strangely ethereal power from 18, Piccolo decided to end the battle immediately. That time had passed. It was no more. Moments later, Gohan was the same. Turning, Piccolo looked to 18. Her eyes glowed as his did, but possessed a new calm, and intensity. They nodded to each other momentarily.

Then reality ripped apart around them as Darkness poured into the Afterlife. It quickly swirled and concentrated into a massive sphere of malevolent energy. Strands of Darkness whirled from it, slashing toward the two warriors who quickly dodged back and away. The air around them was thick with drifting mists of Darkness, so much that they could not see beyond the small battlefield. Abruptly the Darkness spoke.

"You've destroyed my little toys," the being rumbled. "It's time to find some new ones."

.

Golden light faded from Goku's body; his hair diminished to its former length. Involuntarily his body shuddered, as he lay back on the ground, trying even to move. Dark Buu leapt into the air from across the battlefield; Goku could sense the attack but realized he could do nothing to stop the impending attack. Then Dark Buu was suspended before him, leg flying, calculated to go entirely through his head...

Almost not of his own power, Goku's hand jerked into the air, catching the blow. Immediately pulling his leg back, Dark Buu dropped to the ground beside Goku, watching him carefully. Frozen in the air, Goku's hand was trembling. For a moment he ignored Dark Buu, ignored the destroyed planet around them, ignored the fate of humanity and just tried to make his hand stop trembling. He failed.

Darkness crackled through Dark Buu's eyes as he gazed down at Goku. Slowly the glowing light in Goku's eyes began to go out, and Goku knew that when it did Darkness would finish him. There would be no arrogant talking, no victory taken. There would be only destruction.

Red light opened up beneath Goku, and he abruptly fell away into the earth. Immediately Dark Buu smashed his foot toward the portal, aiming to destroy it, but it closed just before his foot annihilated the ground where it had rested. Nothing remained of the saiyan. There was a moment of silence as a dark breeze swept across the battlefield, and then Dark Buu uttered two words. Two words, and the sky darkened. Two words, and hundreds of souls in the Afterlife shivered. Two words, spoken without emotion but with pure malevolence.

"Dai Kioshin..."

.

Darkness crashed down toward the two warriors in a torrent. Both immediately leapt away, but found more tendrils of Darkness were already snaking out toward them. A burst caught Piccolo in the chest, sending him crashing backward. He saw that while 18 evaded the majority of the attack, hundreds of strands of darkness snapped around her arms, binding her in midair.

Dropping to one knee, Piccolo considered strategy while ducking another swipe of Darkness. It was nearly impossible to fight this manifestation. The very air was polluted by remnants of Darkness, and its reach was everywhere. An extremely heavy weight, a spiritual weight, bore down on Piccolo's shoulders, slowing him. For every blast he sent into the mass of Darkness, it barely seemed to diminish.

Putting a hand to the ground and pushing off it, Piccolo barely evaded another attack. He needed to end this quickly, or this pervading Darkness would consume him. Bashing aside a tendril of Darkness, he leapt through the air, toward the central mass. Immediately strands rushed to strike him, as he knew they would.

Spinning around his central axis in midair, Piccolo spun as fast as he could. The Darkness was thrown off as it touched him, and then Piccolo was overhead. Making his energy as focused as he could form it, Piccolo blasted off the top half of the bulbous mass of Darkness. At that moment 18 snapped the Darkness around her and sent another blast that barely avoided singing his feet.

The lower portion of Darkness was ripped away, leaving threads floating around the entire area. Both of them continued floating, panting just slightly. Narrowing his eyes, Piccolo realized too late that the battle was not truly over. Nebulous Darkness all about them abruptly contracted, snapping around 18 and enveloping her in a sphere of dark power.

Blue flame burst around her, and 18's hand emerged from the side of the Darkness. For a moment Piccolo dared hope, but then the flame was extinguished and her hand slipped back into the unnaturally still surface. Generating an aura around him, Piccolo prepared to attack, though he wasn't immediately sure how he was going to effectively-

Power tore through the ball of Darkness. A massive hole was completely gone from the sphere, and 18 floated in the center of it. Her head was thrown back, eyes closed, and there was a slight white glow around her entire body. The edges of the destroyed Darkness looked strangely red, as if they had been burned away. What could possible have done such a thing?

Then 18's eyes opened, and they burned with an intensity never before seen. Before the Darkness could move, she plunged her hands into it. Light began running all along the Darkness, consuming it, burning it away. All of it fell away, hissing slightly and eventually being completely consumed. A slight breeze swirled around 18 as she lightly touched down on the ashen ground. Piccolo dropped to the ground as well, unable to speak.

"What is this?" she asked. Slowly Piccolo shook his head.

"I do not know. Beyond this point, the galaxy has never experienced anything like this before." His eyes narrowed. "One thing is certain... you utterly destroyed that portion of Darkness."

"Perhaps," 18 mused, "if we fought the rest of Darkness we could destroy it as well?"

"Speaking of Darkness, it's coming," Piccolo responded, getting into a slightly defensive position. "Do you know what Buu was supposed to be? Whatever this is, it's far worse. It's coming directly toward us."

In response 18 merely smirked slightly, her eyes blazing with an incredible intensity. "Then let's go meet it."

.

Before anything else, he was aware of the cold stone floor. His shirt seemed to do nothing to stop the cold from creeping into his skin. But at least it was a natural cold, heat diffusing from a higher concentration to a lower. For a long moment Goku merely lay there panting, exhausted, taking refuge in the natural reaction. Slowly he forced his tired and beaten eyes open, and found himself staring at what appeared to be the inside of a cathedral.

Where was he? Immediately doubt crept into his mind, confusion swamping him. Dark Buu had been about to destroy him, and he had been helpless, and then he had found himself here. There had been a moment of dislocation and he had lost all sense of bearing, and then he was lying on the cold stone floor. A teleportation, he slowly realized, and not one he had done on his own.

Sitting up painfully, Goku glanced about the room. His eyes refused to focus, so everything was slightly bleary. There didn't appear to be anyone else in the room, however.

"I can help." The voice took Goku off guard, and he looked as quickly as possible toward the source. Dai Kioshin emerged from the shadows to face him.

"Why should I trust you?"

"Against a power as great as Darkness, sometimes enemies must become allies," Dai Kioshin explained. "I used every ounce of power in my arsenal to save your life, to take you here and shield your presence from him. But unless something slows him down, he will soon find us and destroy us both." It felt so terribly ironic that he had saved his greatest opponent. But that was why his plan was such incredible genius.

"How can you help me?" Goku asked, wincing and feeling a wound on his arm. That would sting for a long time.

"First, I can heal you." Dai Kioshin did so before Goku could protest. "But you would still fall before the wrath of the Evil. He is the greatest threat to the galaxy that has ever existed. To defeat him, you will have to unlock your full potential, make your body ascend to another level. I can do that for you. I can make you Mystic Goku."

"What choice do I have?" Goku muttered. He was too tired to resist. If this failed, it was all over. There was no other hope. At Dai Kioshin's instruction Goku lay down, folded his hands on his stomach and remained silent. Drawing an intricate design with his own blood on his hands, Dai Kioshin pressed his palms together and then lightly touched the sides of Goku's head. Immediately the saiyan's world spun into shadows.

-

Three...


	55. Episode LIII: Final Saga

This chapter is unusually long... not that I think any of you will mind. These final chapters are unevenly spaced, based upon the position of the plot, not the text in each. But ah well.  
  
Given the method in which I've developed this story, trusting Dai Kioshin would be a very bad thing. But Goku hasn't seen everything you guys have. Also, he really didn't have a choice. Without medical treatment he would have died, and he certainly could not have fought Dark Buu. Not that this doesn't have interesting consequences...

In regard to death... the ultimate sacrifice, eh? Again, I will answer nothing, though I will say that making the ultimate sacrifice isn't always successful. Also, this story is going to go beyond even a second death momentarily.

I had a loaded question asked of me (if I wanted to be an author): The question is difficult to answer, and I am uncertain if I am adequately equipped to answer it in this stage of my life. There is one project I am currently working on for serious publication, and there are several others that I would create were I a manga-ka. At the moment I am uncertain if a career entirely based upon writing would be best or even feasible.

The next chapter will be updated late, because I will be on a mission trip.

-

Episode LIII: Final Saga

Cold, dark eyes gazed at the planet below. Like lightning a grey arm flashed, hurling a sphere of ki that glittered swiftly down into the atmosphere. It vanished entirely for a moment, then the planet died in a fiery explosion. The flames swept around Dark Buu, but the monster was already moving toward the next planet in the line without a backward glance.

Though Dai Kioshin had managed to save Goku's life, it could do no more than delay the inevitable. Dark Buu's expression did not waver as he destroyed the next planet and continued on systematically. The longer everything was delayed, the more his power would increase. As Darkness began to collect across the Afterlife, a shadow was falling over the universe. Only a sliver of light remained at one end, and when it had been eclipsed everything would be consumed by the Darkness.

But first there were problems to be dealt with. Surely Daio Kioshin was planning to use Goku's life energy for some magic. That could prove troublesome, but it would not be a challenge. No seal could lock him away any longer. What occupied more of Dark Buu's mind was the explosion of Light he had felt from across the Afterlife. Someone had gone to a new level of power, gained a new authority. That, he knew, did not bode well, so he was tracing a path of destruction toward the location.

Hurling another sphere of energy toward the next planet, Dark Buu was taken off guard when a blast came flying back at him. Scrunching his head down into his body, the grey warrior barely evaded his own attack. Something had returned his blast? A green streak came flying at him, and Dark Buu found himself hard pressed to keep up with a heavy assault he had not been prepared for. So Piccolo had come to him.

The next moment a foot smashed into the back of his head, sending Dark Buu flying through the air. Taken off guard, he was unable to dodge as 18 plunged toward him. Her hands bit into his sides, and then a terrible Light began to creep over his being...

Dark Buu jerked away, leaving parts of his Darkness to evaporate in 18's hands. Skidding back in midair, Dark Buu realized there was another ki behind him too late. The monster attempted to dodge, but Piccolo's blast still tore through his stomach. As he forced himself together again, 18 swept up to him, embedding her glowing white fist in his head. Light began to burn through him, spreading over his being.

Terrible Darkness exploded silently, sending both Piccolo and 18 hurtling far from Dark Buu. Regaining control of their flight, the whirled to face Dark Buu just in time to see his being knit itself back together. The rough red edges of his body darkened once more, and soon his body was whole. Power flooded over him, and a darker shade of grey worked over Dark Buu's skin.

"So you have broken into the Legendary level," Dark Buu murmured, calmly watching them. "Unfortunate, but not unforseen. You will not be allowed to interfere."

Immediately he leapt into the attack, raining blows down on 18 at a nearly invisible pace. She found herself only barely able to defend against his full assault. When she blocked his blows her Light no longer burned him, it was pushed back by the Darkness that coated his body. Sensing Piccolo attacking from behind, Dark Buu jerked a hand behind his head, slapping aside both of the Namek's kicks.

Deflecting a punch from Dark Buu's single arm, 18 smashed a fist into his stomach. For a split second Dark Buu gaped, and then Piccolo's elbow bit into the back of his head. He careened down toward the very planet he had been about to destroy. Matching pace with him, Piccolo and 18 gathered energy. At the same instant they fired, aiming to crush Dark Buu between their blasts. Halting in midair, the monstrosity of Darkness barely stopped over the blasts that collided with devastating force.

Realizing they had missed, Piccolo and 18 immediately cut off their blasts. Before Piccolo could discern Dark Buu's location, the warrior smashed him in the side of the head. Moving with the blow Piccolo flipped backward and managed to deflect Dark Buu's next attack, though the assault drove him backward. Punching too slowly, Piccolo could only wince as Dark Buu jerked the blow aside and sent his own fist aiming for the Namek's head.

A series of swift ki blasts struck Dark Buu in the side, knocking him away. Stopping himself in midair, Dark Buu allowed the blasts to continue to smash into his body. Slowly and painfully he turned to face 18, who was still firing. Her face was incredulous; she knew how much ki she had in her blasts. Dark Buu's expression was completely blank, but somehow the Darkness in his eyes seemed to be smirking.

"By now you should realize legends are the worthless playthings of fools," he hissed. "They said that there was a Legendary Evil, and a Legendary One to fight it. But there is only power. Light and Darkness. There is no destiny. I will utterly destroy everything in my path, whether it is called Legendary or not."

A massive sphere of ki behind Dark Buu made him break off his oratory immediately. He blurred out of sight, barely vanishing before the blast tore through the area where he had floated. So it had been a distraction attack, he realized, and a rather good one. Piccolo had almost been fast enough to hit him with the blast, which might have been damaging. Unfortunately for them, it was not enough.

However, Dark Buu failed to realize the trajectory of both warriors in time to dodge their next attack. Piccolo and 18 punched from opposite sides of the monster, and their fists made contact through his chest. Dark Buu made a slight gagging sound, and then the two rained blows down upon him as he hung defenseless.

Throwing out his arms to his sides, Dark Buu sent a crackling wave of power out around him. Both warriors attacking were sent hurtling through the Afterlife, managing to regain their flight some distance away. 18 arced to stand beside Piccolo, cautiously watching their opponent. Before them, Dark Buu focused and his body returned to its muscular physique, the damage from their blows fading away.

"How much does it take to stop him?" 18 asked softly. Piccolo fired a one handed blast that it took Dark Buu and moment to avoid and then responded grimly.

"He's immune to physical damage," Piccolo told her. "I don't think it's possible to cripple him. The damage we're doing isn't physical: his energy is slowly draining. If we weaken him enough and blast him to atoms, he'll be gone for good."

Slicing forward, Buu swiped at both of them, narrowly missing. Changing the direction of his momentum in mid charge he flew after 18, fists fueled by his full energy. His first blow managed to knock her aside slightly, so his next smashed into her stomach. Stunned, 18 was unable to avoid his axe handle that immediately followed.

Dark Buu's complete offense, however, left him briefly open ,and Piccolo capitalized on the moment. By the time his foot smashed into Dark Buu's back, it was surrounded by a thick layer of ki. Rocketing into the air from the blow, Dark Buu changed directions and thundered down toward Piccolo in a flying kick. At the last instant the Namek ducked, and Dark Buu realized that 18 had been standing directly behind him, eclipsed by his body. Her hands glowed dangerously with ki.

The blast encompassed Dark Buu entirely, sending him hurtling through the planet's horizon. A rain of kienzan flooded down toward him the next moment. Focusing on dodging the sharp energy formulations, Dark Buu was unable to dodge the hand that grabbed him in a choke hold. Immediately slipping out of it, Dark Buu reformed his head just in time to see another of Piccolo's kienzans blow through his torso. As his parts slid away, Dark Buu was unable to dodge 18's lashing attack, which lopped off his head.

Roaring for the first time in the battle, Dark Buu flung his hands out on either side of his body, an aura exploding around him before he even bothered to repair himself. Gigantic blasts swept toward both of them; Piccolo managed to dodge but 18 was forced to raise her arms in defense. The sheer force of the attack sent her hurtling down toward the planet's surface.

Cursing under his breath, Piccolo realized that Dark Buu would be focusing all his power on him in mere seconds. He needed 18 to be able to stand a chance against this monster. She was still alive after his attack, but would need a few seconds to recover. Best to stall, then.

Slamming his hands together, Piccolo focused as swiftly as possible. Dark Buu grated to a halt as his opponent suddenly divided, once and then again. Soon a small army of dopplegangers stood in front of Dark Buu. All of them dropped to a fighting position as one. Then they began streaming toward him, a solid line of attacks.

Dark Buu scoffed at the foolish attack, though his face betrayed no emotion. Did this foolish being really think that he could be fooled by such a dated technique? As the bodies flew toward him, rather slowly compared to his full speed, Dark Buu calculated there were at least fifty. If each of them had a fiftieth of Piccolo's total power... then none of them could even hurt him.

The Piccolos flew by in swift succession, and Dark Buu remained where he was without dodging. Each blow merely bounced off him worthlessly. All Piccolo had bought himself was more time... and the instant the last doppleganger passed him, Dark Buu intended to turn and blow all of them away.

For an instant the last of the Piccolos was before him, a slight smirk on his face. Too late to move, Dark Buu could only wonder about the expression. Seconds later he received his answer as the Piccolo's fist buried itself inside his grey flesh. Hurled backward by the direct hit, Dark Buu narrowed his eyes, annoyed. He attacked as quickly as possible, aiming to destroy the last clone. Dark Buu discovered he was a moment too late; all the Piccolos reformed into a single body, which bashed his blast of ki aside.

i_How?/i_ Buu glared at the other warrior. Piccolo merely grinned at him, then attacked. Easily Dark Buu ducked the blow, and then felt a new presence enter the fight. So 18 had recovered then, and was attacking. Her fist struck the back of his head, driving him toward the surface of the planet.

As he fell, Dark Buu discerned the true nature of Piccolo's attack. Most of the copies had been pathetically weak, and one had retained almost all of Piccolo's power. Thus he had been lulled into overconfidence and made a critical mistake. Genius. Dark Buu determined to take this Namek's life force to utilize his intelligence and unique abilities for future battles with opposition.

Piccolo swept down to strike his falling opponent, but found he could do no more than keep himself alive as Dark Buu abruptly unleashed a flurry of blows. Making one movement a hair too slow, Dark Buu prepared to deflect Piccolo's strike... and was surprised as the Namek dropped out of the sky like a stone. For a moment Dark Buu was puzzled, certain some manner of attack was coming.

A ki flew toward his back swiftly, and he barely turned in time to see 18 flying toward him. Both her hands were cupped before her, and energy disks were pouring from them. Each was a kienzan, Dark Buu realized, as the energy cut his body apart. Still in pieces from the attack, Dark Buu countered. Grabbing a severed piece of his skin, he hurled it toward Piccolo and simultaneously drove a palm into 18's chin as she neared him.

Following up on the female warrior, Dark Buu was bringing a fist toward her head when he felt a slight stinging pain. Had Piccolo managed to actually destroy the small portion of himself Dark Buu had thrown? An instant later Piccolo struck Dark Buu's reforming back with a flat palm. The blow dealt far more damage than it first appeared, as Buu shattered into hundreds of floating pieces.

Instead of reforming himself, Dark Buu descended upon 18, wrapping himself around her in a tight grey cocoon. Gathering energy in his hands but unable to attack for fear of hurting 18, Piccolo could only look on in horror.

Stars. Stars surrounded him. It was like he was floating in the night sky, no planets nearby or even visible; just himself and the stars. Goku breathed deeply, though there was nothing to breath. This wasn't space. That much he was certain of. But at the moment he had more important things to worry about, like Dark Buu.

Looking over himself, he discovered that his power had risen dramatically. Then perhaps this Mystic transformation had actually worked. But where was he now, and where was Dai Kioshin? Glancing down at his physical body, Goku discovered that his clothing had been repaired. Too well repaired, in fact... he hadn't worn a sash like that for many years. Why was it still there?

Abruptly the sash was gone, and Goku blinked. He could have sworn it was there a moment ago, but now that seemed very far away. What had it been about a sash? Something weird was going on here, and it disturbed him at the core of his being. Whatever it was, it struck him as a fundamental paradox... that probably wasn't good for reality. For that matter, why were there so many stars around him? Nowhere in the galaxy where there stars this thick in the sky.

"This is the heart of the galaxy," a voice whispered. Whirling about, Goku found that no one was visible. He narrowed his eyes and moved to a cautious defensive position. "It no longer exists," the voice explained, "though once this was what the very center of this realm looked like. Everything around you, even you yourself, is a product of what once was. This is a shiftless place."

"Where is it and who are you?"

"Ah, yes. You are always so concerned with forms." Something shifted, and Goku felt as though he was on the palm of a giant being many times his size. Something like a rushing wind tore past him, and then a being simply was. One second there had been nothing, and then next he was floating in space some distance from Goku.

Whatever it was, it was cloaked in a black robe. Its hood cast an unnatural shadow over its face, so Goku could see nothing of it. Both its hands were gloved in a strange black substance, and the creature's feet were invisible under the floating robe. It was unnaturally still, nothing of its robe shifted with its movement. Still, there seemed to be a power about it that made Goku almost shiver.

He realized that it had ignored his first question and was about to repeat it when the form spoke again. This time it's voice no longer seemed to come from everywhere. "Allow me to assure you of one thing, Son Goku. This was meant to be the end for you. When you die here, all that is you will die. I must destroy you," the figure dropped into a fighting stance, "but when you are gone my existence will terminate. So make it fun, will you?"

Before Goku could respond he was forced to jerk away from a blow that nearly took off his head. This guy, he felt certain the figure was male now, was pouring all his energy into an offensive. With his new speed, Goku realized it was only moderately difficult to evade the attacks. As soon as the guy spent too much of his energy, it would be time to counterattack.

As he dodged, he tried to place the figure's voice in his mind. It did sound familiar, but not quite normal. Frieza? It sounded vaguely like Frieza, but that might have been his imagination. Cell? No, that seemed similar too, so he was just making correlations in his head. Odd indeed.

Slowly Goku realized that the figure wasn't slowing down. Even though he was burning his energy, it was like he was working from an infinite source. Putting on a burst of speed and moving back, Goku was slightly shocked as the figure kept pace with him. Quick reflexes...

Throwing back his head, Goku intended to go Super Saiyan and blast his opponent back. His power was as cloaked as he was, but if this was his best than he'd be destroyed in Super Saiyan. To Goku's surprise, he ran into a solid wall. Unable to transform, Goku could do nothing as the figure's hand grabbed his head and smashed it into the ground.

Ground? Kicking at his opponent, forcing him to back away, Goku flipped to his feet. Immediately he started, though not enough to be struck by a blast from the cloaked figure, because of what he saw. They were no longer in the starry expanse, but instead on a greyish beach. Unnaturally blue water was lapping at the shore. Before he could move further his opponent was suddenly flitting before his face, ready to strike.

Unleashing his new power, Goku blew him back. The cloaked figure flew through the air only briefly before gaining control of himself and landing on the ground. Disoriented, Goku stuck with what he knew and got ready to keep fighting. Now, however, the figure didn't seem to want to keep up the battle.

"This is the beginning of the first planet," he explained, "back when it was young. So pure, and yet so not pure. Because there is the choice of good, to do anything other than good must be evil. Already evil choices are being made; already Darkness is being created."

"This can't be real. Where are we really?"

"I assure you, this is exactly what the first planet appeared like." The figure shook its head. "You may be wondering why you can no longer go Super Saiyan. Such is easily answered. While the Mystic transformation raised your power, it automatically blocks off all levels of Super Saiyan."

"Then..." Slowly Goku realized that his power now wasn't even on par with Super Saiyan 2, much less Super Saiyan 3. That meant that Dai...

"It's called a trick," the cloak told him blandly. "But you have to die now."

As it moved forward, Goku smirked and unleashed his attack. The energy he had been charging during the entire conversation broke along the ground in three swift lines that all met each other at the cloaked figure. Raw power erupted through the air, creating an explosion and making Goku brace himself. When the light faded, the figure hung in the air, robes slightly tattered. Moments later the robes reformed themselves.

"Nothing more than an exercise in futility," the figure began, but then it abruptly stopped. Moments later Goku phased into being before him, performing a Solar Flare directly into the hood. Before it could move further he smashed repeated swift blows into the figure, hitting solid flesh each time. Again and again he bashed the figure, knocking it about the air and finally pile driving it into the ground as he sensed it recovering.

Leaping back, Goku watched carefully as it rose to its feet. Abruptly it laughed, and the sound was hauntingly familiar.

"I trust you aren't stupid, and you realize that I dwarf you in power. But I bet at this point you're thinking you can win if you fight cautiously, make me waste my energy, and do heavy damage often. Pointless efforts." It slid out of a fighting stance. "I will show you the futility of your actions. You have one minute to do your very worst to me. After that, perhaps you will have enough sense to despair before I destroy you."

Realizing that if it was a trap it was a poorly prepared one, Goku hurled himself forward, slamming a blow into the side of the figure's head. It jerked to the side and Goku was prepared to evade a counterattack, but it merely returned to its feet. Attacking from every possible direction, striking thousands of blows, Goku beat the cloaked figure through the air. Sensing his minute was nearly up, he uppercutted his opponent into the air and then fired a massive blast over it.

Black tattered robes fell to the ground. Moments later the cloak rose again, reforming around the dark body within it. Before the figure was even half way up its robes looked as though nothing had happened to them. Casually leaning his head back, the figure jumped to a higher level of power, and Goku realized that he had done no more than barely chip away at its life force.

Laughing softly, the figure shook its head at him in mockery.

"No more toying around; you disappoint me," his opponent muttered. "The end."

It promptly vanished, and before Goku could even express surprise its fist moved a fair distance into his chest. Then blows were raining down on him from all sides, far faster than he could hope to keep up with, if he could even see them. Eventually he fell back and smashed into the ground, bruised and bloody.

He had fallen on a street, Goku realized. Around him and behind the figure standing over him they were in a different world once more. There was a city around them, bustling with life. People were rushing around them, ignoring the two warriors in the middle of the street. Cars got near the cloaked figure and exploded in flame that consumed even the metal, and yet not a single head turned.

i_How...? How can he be so strong?/i_

"I am strong because it is an intrinsic requirement of my being," the figure answered his unasked question. "I am the representation of the power that has been called Legendary. In any context that is dangerous, but when certain conditions are met, it is unstoppable. You stand no chance against me."

Just as the figure raised a palm and sent a gigantic blast encompassing him, something tore. Something ripped through space and time, and reality cracked away from the blast of preternatural power. The inhabitants of the city continued to go about their business as a terrible emptiness floated from the cracks in the foundations of existence itself. Cosmic dust faded away, and Goku was standing, eyes blazing, trembling with power.

The Legendary One gaped, and Goku smiled. His eyes glowed softly.

"This isn't over yet."

With insane speed the cloaked being snapped forward, leg flying to the side of his head. Just as quickly Goku raised an arm and deflected the attack. Both of them punched forward at the same time, fist hitting fist. The shockwaves from their battle shook reality itself.

"Perfect," Dai Kioshin whispered to himself. "For all the evil machinations of my opponents, the plan will still reach its completion flawlessly."

"What do you mean, master?" his apprentice grunted, staggering beneath his load. On his back, Goku twisted and flinched away from imaginary blows. Vainly his body tried to move, though it used no actual ki. Taking him to the most secure location in the Afterlife, Dai Kioshin's palace, was no simple task. Of course, Dai Kioshin took no part in actually carrying him. Such was a lowly task, after all.

"If you cannot understand, I will not explain it to you," Dai Kioshin answered tartly.

"If he breaks his bonds," the apprentice warned, "there will be great danger. Surely by now he has understood the depth of our deceit. If he wakens, neither of us will be able to stop him."

"He will not break free," Dai Kioshin said firmly. "The death trap is going perfectly. While he can stand against the Legendary One, he stands no chance whatsoever of defeating him." He glanced down his nose at the younger Kioshin. "No one can win such a battle, not against the essence of the greatest force known to the universe. Because of this, he will be firmly bound long enough for us to do our work. When that is complete, the result of the battle will be completely irrelevant.

"Besides, even if he escapes he is weakened by the Mystic power up. Without us, he would be destroyed by the newer and more powerful Evil. Though he does not know it, he is completely helpless. Soon, all the meddlers will be able to do nothing and the Evil will not be able to stand against me. Nothing they do will matter."

"Why won't it matter?" the apprentice asked, somewhat dully. The elder Kioshin ignored him.

"Set the body down here," he commanded, pointing to the floor of the temple. As his apprentice hurried to obey, Dai Kioshin knelt beside Goku and focused. Beneath his breath his swiftly muttered arcane words, even as his hands gently formed the motions required for the spell.

"What are you going to do, master?"

"Shut up!" Dai Kioshin barked. "I have no time for your stupid questions. We must hurry!"

Swiftly he gestured his apprentice come closer and kneel beside the body. Abruptly with a swift motion Dai Kioshin slit his apprentice's throat. As the dying Kioshin collapsed to the floor, Dai Kioshin moved his hands into the spurting blood. It clung to him unnaturally, and slowly began to form a large sphere in his hands. As it hovered Dai Kioshin wiped blood from one of Goku's wounds and added it to the wobbling sphere.

Instantly the sphere contracted down, falling dangerously toward Goku's body. Muttering as fast as possible, Dai Kioshin formed it into the outline of a prism. The blood red lines formed around Goku, encasing him in an invisible coffin. An unnatural stillness covered the entire area as Dai Kioshin moved into the second phase of his spell. A small, perfectly formed crystal appeared before him, glittering in the light. He carefully set it in the air, just at the center of the prism.

A hum began, one on the edges of a person's hearing, that would drive most mortal men insane. It continued as energy began flowing off Goku's body, arcing around the dark red lines and flowing into the crystal, which began to glow brighter and brighter. Near the bottom of the crystal a still liquid began to flow, rising toward the top. Smiling, Dai Kioshin stood and watched the process. As that crystal slowly filled with light, his victory came closer and closer...

"Wha... what are you doing?" the apprentice gasped, from the ground. Glancing down at him, the highest Kioshin was only slightly annoyed. Nothing could annoy him much now, when his victory would come in a matter of fifteen minutes.

"I will explain it for your simple mind before we are rid of your incompetence forever," he sneered. "Goku may lose the fight in his mind, but it will only serve to strengthen his soul. But that soul is being extracted into my crystal. Just as he loses the battle, his soul will be removed to prevent him from dying. Because the Mystic transformation directly affects the soul, his Super Saiyan transformations will have returned. However, the result will be a soulless creature, completely bound to my will."

"But... that would..."

"Bah, stupid fool. Never could you think of such great things. Without a soul he will lack all moral imperative. Because I hold his soul, he will do everything that I command. With our enemy's greatest weapon under our control, with more power than ever before, nothing will be able to stop us."

"T... terrible..."

For a moment Dai Kioshin merely glanced down at the dying Kioshin as his blood seeped away into the soil. Ah yes, his apprentice had served his task well enough. After this, never again would Dai Kioshin need an apprentice. The power of Evil within him, the power of Goku at his command... nothing could come close to challenging him. Abruptly his face twisted into a cruel smile, and he smashed a foot down, ending his apprentice's life immediately. No use listening to him whine.

A loud yell broke over the battlefield, and 18 abruptly shattered the sphere of Dark Buu around her, sending him flying apart in fragments once more. Piccolo rushed in, grabbing 18 and pulling her away before Dark Buu spun violently to regenerate himself, annihilating all the nearby ground. Letting go of 18 and turning back to the grey monster, Piccolo winced slightly.

Now, Dark Buu was very angry. His expression was blank, as it always was, and his intent was destruction, but now his was entirely focused upon them. Both of them had resisted his attempts to absorb them, and Piccolo realized that he wanted nothing more than to start his complete and total destruction with the two of them.

With incredible ferocity Dark Buu charged toward them. At the last second he vanished from sight, reappearing between them and bashing them aside. Both were still flying through the air when Dark Buu smashed devastating kicks into them, sending them crashing into the ground.

Higher in the air, Buu charged down toward Piccolo at full speed. Raising his hands, the Namek fired a large blast toward his opponent. He gaped in shock a moment later as he realized that Dark Buu made no attempt to dodge, merely taking the damage and continuing. Both his hands grabbed Piccolo around the neck, knocking him back to the ground and beginning to choke the life out of him.

Immediately 18 attacked from behind, her kicks taking out a major portion of Dark Buu's body. Without turning he repaired himself and sent both of his antennas extending back, wrapping around her wrist and waist. As she struggled with the extensions, Piccolo continued to choke. Intending to further the process, Dark Buu moved down to head butt Piccolo at full strength.

Just before the attack struck, Piccolo fired a beam from his mouth that sliced up through Dark Buu's face. It recoiled in pain, giving Piccolo an opportunity to roll out from under him and 18 a chance to shatter her bonds. Before his face had even been restored, Dark Buu flung a fist toward Piccolo. The Namek smashed one palm into the ground, the impact sending him flipping out of the way of Buu's blow.

Flowing to his feet, Dark Buu generated an aura around himself. Dark red flames lit up over his body, glowing darker and darker until they were nearly black. Abruptly he struck swiftly, critical blows driving both the other warriors to their knees. Leaping up into the sky away from their counter attacks, Dark Buu generated a sphere of malevolent black light around himself. Their energy attacks struck it and deflected harmlessly.

Moving forward as fast as possible, Piccolo slammed his fingers into the sphere and found his hand repulsed. Forming a fist, he began pushing it into the sphere, making Dark Buu's defenses slowly give way. Narrowing his eyes, Dark Buu increased the energy in the defensive field, forcing Piccolo to use all his strength to avoid giving up ground. Sweat rolled down the side of his face just in the effort to stay where he was.

In focusing on Piccolo, however, Dark Buu made a very dangerous mistake. 18 teleported directly behind him within the sphere of power, her hands glowing behind her with a Kamehameha. Before he could recognize her presence, she fired it point blank into his back.

Instantly the sphere snapped, sending Dark Buu flying through the air and barely missing Piccolo, who barrel rolled out of the way. Flung through the air, Dark Buu floated above them, then let out an earth shattering yell. Darkness exploded from around him, swirling violently. Raising a hand, Dark Buu concentrated a blast of pure Darkness, which flew from his hand of its own power.

i_So fast.../i_ already the attack struck 18 directly, catapulting her backward toward the planet, where she quickly vanished. Dark Buu checked to see if she was still alive and found nothing. Good. As he had suspected, an attack of pure Darkness could negate even the power of Light. Now for Piccolo.

But Piccolo was gone. A second later both the Namek's legs drove into Dark Buu's back, making him stagger forward. Immediately following up, Piccolo launched his charged blast toward the back of the grey head, but Dark Buu swiftly ducked beneath the attack. Flipping forward, he slammed both legs into Piccolo, who fell backward, almost lifeless.

Turning with the same malevolent intent in his eyes, Dark Buu focused on Piccolo, aiming to destroy the falling warrior in the air. Just as he was sweeping down to strike the warrior, however, Piccolo's eyes blazed open. Light as intense as 18's poured from his eyes, exploding from his body and driving Dark Buu back. Hissing in anger, Dark Buu beat away the encroaching Light that began to eat away at his being.

Getting the attack under control, Dark Buu focused on Piccolo and discovered that he had his hands together and he was muttering something... a seal! He was trying to do the same seal that Babidi had trapped him with! While Dark Buu knew he was immune to the dismissing seal, this one could well limit his power considerably. Such could not be allowed.

Charging another sphere of Darkness, Dark Buu fired it before Piccolo had time to ready himself to dodge the attack. Just before it struck him, however, Piccolo hurled what he had finished off the seal. Instantly the Darkness crackled over him and he let out a cry of pain before being thrown over the horizon. Dark Buu watched him fall headlong and creash into a mountain, then checked for a ki... there was none.

Two more obstacles to complete control of the galaxy had been removed. Now there were only two remaining, and then his plan would have spread too far for anyone to stop it. His eyes glowed darkly as he considered Dai Kioshin. Foolish old man, thinking he was controlling anything. No more than a mere pawn, as he had been for all the millennia of his life.

About to move from the battlefield, Buu suddenly felt his limbs shake in weakness. What was this? Pain all over his body, pain he hadn't realized existed. So they had managed to deal him a great more damage than he initially realized. Looking down to survey the damage that had been done, Buu started slightly as he realized his skin had changed to a dark red.

"No!" he roared, angrily smashing and grinding one fist into another. Foolish Namek. In his dying breaths he had managed to affix part of the seal once more... enough that a shell again surrounded his true power. Now he was trapped in this weaker, inefficient, foolish form. Were he to run into Goku now, he would be finished.

Flying to the ruins of a destroyed city, Buu floated to the center of the destruction and planted himself firmly on the ground. Drawing a protective shield over himself, he settled down and closed his eyes. Dark energy began to crackle over his body. Healing would take very little time, full recovery even less. Once the last remains of this accursed shroud were gone, he would only have to destroy the meddlers, and then his mastery over the galaxy would be complete.

Collapsing to the ground, tasting blood heavily in his mouth, Goku struggled even to move. The Legendary One stood behind him, laughing evilly. Around Goku, the city lay in ruins, its inhabitants scattered over the streets. This had been none of their doing. Midway through the battle everything had shifted again to this backdrop that Goku thought was eerily familiar. It seemed to be many years after the last time they had been in, basically modern Earth... but Goku felt certain he would never see what came after.

"You're an interesting case," the cloaked figure told him from behind. "By sheer determination you've managed to fight at basically Legendary level, though the comparison is of a mere child to an adult. But now, you are finished. It'd take a miracle for you to survive. And I'm afraid my power is the only one that will be doing any miracles."

But as Goku struggled with weakness, he glanced down and saw something lying on the ground. A Sensu Bean. How could one possibly have appeared here? It made no sense, couldn't be reality. Even if it existed in his world, it would... stuffing it into his mouth, Goku felt its magical powers instantly spreading over his body, healing it entirely. Underneath the Legendary One's cowl two eyes blazed as if he realized he had made a huge mistake. Power blazed around Goku and blasted the Legendary One backward.

Again they battled, the Legendary One still easily dominating Goku but now finding himself forced to use even higher levels of power than before. Often blows crashed into his body as well as the saiyan's, though none of them appeared to do any damage. Once Goku broke the cloaked figure's leg at the knee, but within a few seconds it was operating perfectly once more.

As the black cloaked figure rushed down upon him, Goku abruptly burst with another level of power. His hair flew up and became golden; his Super Saiyan aura crashed into the Legendary One, sending him flying away. Immediately Goku continued to strike, battering him several times before a blaze of power lit up around the Legendary One and his power spiked yet again. Almost disdainfully the Legendary One brushed him aside.

Crashing through the ground, Goku vanished in a cloud of smoke. For a moment the black cloak fluttered at the edge of the dust, watching and waiting, and then a fully charged Kamehameha smashed into him from behind. Blown much further than usual, the Legendary One turned and discovered Goku stand with his hands cupped, hair flowing in full Super Saiyan 3.

"How are you doing that?" The Legendary One seemed interested, in the way a scientist studies dirt. "Utilizing both the Mystic and Super Saiyan transformations at once, I mean. I'd thought that the two were mutually exclusive."

The only respond he received was a lightning quick blast from Goku, which sent him tumbling backward. For a moment the Legendary One was stunned at the incredible new level of power Goku had broken into. Immediately Goku capitalized upon the moment, bashing as many haymakers into his opponent's body as he possibly could. Eventually the Legendary One lashed back at him.

Struck by the crushing blow, Goku was sent hurtling backward, plowing through the street for about half the city. He felt nearly dead, but never the less grinned slightly. This time, his opponent had not gone to a new level of power to strike him. Goku knew he was still outclassed, but it was possible he had actually reached discovered the maximum power his opponent possessed.

Already the figure was standing before him, one hand raised, energy gathering at his finger tips. "Well, I admit you're strong," the Legendary One said calmly, as if he hadn't been fighting. "You've shown a surprising about of resilience, and ability to bend reality around you. Such will power... 'tis almost more terrifying than any mortal with Legendary power. But against me, it cannot possible be enough. Frankly, if you even found a way to run I would be impressed."

Gathering as much ki as he could while the Legendary One was occupied, Goku poured it into himself. The ki burned away like chaff, consumed instantly by the sheer power he was putting out. Still, the amount he had charged up allowed him to fight on level with the Legendary One for almost seven seconds. For seven perfect seconds he was even with the Legendary One, eventually smashing a blow into his opponent's face.

Pushing himself further, Goku continued the fight. It had been going on for a long time, he didn't care to know how long. Time passed differently here then everywhere else, even the strange Afterlife rules. It might have been days. The Legendary One had incredible power, one that far outclassed Goku's, and its arrogance and stupidity were all that kept Goku in the fight.

Around them, even the broken city vanished. Now even the planet had vanished, leaving only a blank nothingness. Again they were in the starry expanse, though no longer at the heart of the universe. Calling off its attack, the Legendary One stepped back on the blank grey plane, glancing about. One by one the stars began to go out, vanishing into a terrible Darkness.

"This is the end of everything," he explained softly.

"Is this happening now?" Goku demanded. How long had actually passed? What about 18 and Piccolo?

"Now. Before. Later. What does time matter here? Now we are beyond time. This is Darkness' dream for the entire universe, for every dimension that makes up all of existence. This is it, the final phase of reality. After this, there is nothing else. All that had any reason to be loses its reason. There will be nothing." Both black gloved hands cupped forward, aiming toward Goku's chest. "It is a fitting place to end this."

Both of them had been steadily charging while watching the stars go out, and now brilliant energy lit up in their hands as they faced off. It arced and quivered, incredible power that threatened to destroy everything near it. Around them, the galaxy continued to be consumed by the all encompassing Darkness. The last star went out, and as one they fired their beams forward.

Their clash sent a massive crack through reality, making a chill breeze sweep both beings' clothes around them violently. Bit by bit Goku's beam gave way. Destructive energy roared close to him, wanting to rip him atom from atom and annihilate his soul completely. Yelling in anger, frustration and determination, Goku put on a new burst of power, throwing the beam back. It halted almost immediately, and neither party moved, neither giving way in the slightest.

"You will die," the Legendary One's voice echoed to him in his mind. " Acknowledge that I am your superior in every way. There is no power in this existence that can possibly compare to mine. I encompass your petty being entirely! You have nothing I do not have!"

"Except a reason to live." Goku didn't know what made him say it. Images of Piccolo and 18 flashed through his mind. Energy began flowing through him. He had a reason to live, he had people to care about. His passionate anger flowed through him, burning him like a grass fire. This burned through his spirit just as the Legendary One opened full throttle. Both beams jumped and expanded, becoming even larger but matching each other power for power.

Backlash from the energy ripped through Goku's clothing in places, flapping it almost painfully against him. The Legendary One's cloak was likewise flying in the wind, and sweat fell from his hood. Eventually the wind blew away the hood of the cloak, making his face be fully revealed. Goku's jaw hung slackly, and his anger dissipated. Almost immediately his beam lessened in strength, and the terrible energy rushed toward him...

Then a complete serenity came over Goku's face. His anger was gone, even his stubborn determinedness vanished. All of this seemed to matter no more than leaves in the wind, soon gone, soon pointless. Everything here suddenly seemed impartial, transient. Abruptly, in a way he had never known before, he _iunderstood./i_

"_iIt is finished,/i_" Goku said softly, voice carrying to the Legendary One. His beam exploded with power, ripping apart the opposing energy and striking the Legendary One. For once in the being's existence, it felt true doubt. For once an attack struck it and dealt true damage. For once it was defeated. Even as it was rent apart by the power of the attack, it refused to believe what it had seen. A miracle.

For a moment Goku hung in space, his being no more than a shell. He was spent, completely and totally. It might be ended for him, but he had won. Even if he died here, he had defeated this final opponent. In a way, it made his entire life seem worthwhile, seem to have purpose. Faintly he could sense Piccolo and 18, knew they were still alive. They would be victorious somehow. The universe would somehow avoid the terrible end that had been planned for it. His chapter of the story might be over, but things were just beginning.

Silently Goku fell backward into the embrace of shadows...

-

Two...


	56. Episode LIV: Final Saga

This could be a lengthy author's note. Just so you are warned.

My usage of the word "galaxy" in near synonym with "universe" actually reflects statements made by Akira Toriyama. His reality is dissimilar to the physical world we know: his entire universe consists of a large dome, divided into four quarters. It has an edge, and at that point all of existence seems to stop. Hence, there is really only one Dragonball Z "galaxy" which gave me (I felt) the freedom to use the better-nuanced term.

The structural integrity of the current dimension is simply higher than all others. They are, so to speak, merely branches of a trunk, based on infinite probability theory. Hence, if the trunk is removed, the branches die. Also, this seperates my universe from that of Dragonball Z.

Our location has been the general Afterlife for quite a few chapters now. Therefore, the Kioshins were exactly where they normally were (random planets in the Afterlife). At this point there is barely any wall between the two portions of reality.

Regarding Goku and lessons learned: with all due respect to the original Goku and his understandings, the one in this story has gone to far greater lengths than he ever neared. But he was able to die without regret because he had truly and honestly come to the extreme end of his being... that was the most it was possible to do, even bending the realms of possibility.

-

Episode LIV: Final Saga

_iSystem online._

_Checking all current functions._

_Unit intact._

_All functions excluding thought down._

_Repair routines initializing./i_

Voices? 18 opened her eyes painfully, and found herself staring at the sky. Dark Buu's last attack had been incredibly painful, and then she must have fell unconscious. At least she was awake now, if unable to move. Currently, her system seemed to be in status, repairing itself, according to her internal system's voice. Not the most desirable of situations, but she was alive.

.

Winching one eye open, Piccolo glanced at the cavern around him. So Dark Buu had thought he was dead. Being from Darkness, Piccolo thought he would have been wiser than that. But perhaps because he was also always called the legendary Evil, he was a bit overconfident. More likely, the remnants of his seal had allowed it to make a misjudgement. Either way, it was quite fortunate for him.

The ki around him was very impure, laced with hate. But it'd do. At least until he could get his natural ki flowing. Focusing his thoughts on the area around him, Piccolo began absorbing ki. When he finally maintained a stable state, he began to heal his body. Namekiian healing abilities came in very handy at a time like this. He wasn't sure how long the whole process would take, but the condition wasn't permanent. Good. Piccolo closed his eyes and concentrated on the healing.

.

Licking a bit of blood from his lips, Dai Kioshin watched as Goku lay inside the prism, his true being slowly seeping away into the crystal. At last the process was finished; Dai Kioshin pocketed the crystal. He paused just slightly before slipping it into his coat, however, looking at it again. There was a slight taint in the clear mixture of the soul. Something else was there. Examining it closer, he discovered it was not a taint, but something else. Apparently the saiyan's soul was changing. It was irrelevant to the plan.

Dispersing the bloody prism, Dai Kioshin checked Goku's body. He appeared to be functioning perfectly. When the Legendary One had turned him into a bloody mess, his soul had barely been recovered to the crystal. What remained, a shell of a body, was in perfect health. It had entirely healed, Dai Kioshin noticed, and the clothing had mended on its own. Interesting. All that remained was to wait for Goku to awake, and then he would command him and destroy the galaxy..

A blast shone in from the side, and Dai Kioshin leapt away barely in time to avoid being slaughtered.

"Dai Kioshin," a voice, no greater than a whisper but spreading throughout the entire temple said. "You have been most troublesome indeed. All obstacles will be annihilated. By now you should realize that your plan will be consumed before the onslaught of Darkness."

From the shadows Dark Buu calmly walked. His skin was light grey, his eyes malevolent pools of darkness. A deadly, calculating calm had spread over his face. Power arced around him in dark waves, dangerously destroying the ground where he stepped. Inevitably Dark Buu continued to walk forward, focused upon Dai Kioshin.

"By now you can do no more than delay the inevitable. All your defenses have fallen, your plans lie in rubble. You may not yet realize it; but your role has ended." Briefly Dark Buu glanced to Goku's body. It was no more than a flicker of his eyes, but Dai Kioshin instantly capitalized upon it. Throwing open a portal to his side he dived through it, simultaneously firing a blast in Dark Buu's direction.

Rushing forward and letting the strike bounce off him harmlessly, Dark Buu barely missed the portal. Eyes tightening in mild annoyance, he discovered where the teleportation was linked to. Already Dai Kioshin had teleported again, intended to run as far as he possibly could.

"Run, wretched fool," Dark Buu whispered. "Soon there will be nowhere to run."

He turned back to the fallen Goku. A slight flicker of amusement passed over the Darkness that surrounded Dark Buu. Had Dai Kioshin saved the saiyan's life only to take it away? Did he really think that this man's soul could even hope to compete with Darkness itself? A worthless effort. Unknowingly he orchestrated the destruction of the entire galaxy, while slaying its only hope. Lifting into the air, Dark Buu vanished over the horizon.

Everyone was gone, and an unnatural stillness settled over the building where Goku lay. Not a leaf fell, not a wisp of dust stirred. From a nearby window, light poured in, seeming just as motionless as the room. Slowly, the light in the window began to fade, as if something were blocking it, eclipsing the source of light. The room became darker and darker, steadily falling into shadow.

Suddenly, Goku's eyes opened. They were a solid black, every bit as dark was those possessed by Darkness. There was something worse about these eyes, however. Somehow, if anyone were to look into the eyes, it seemed that nothing was behind them. All that remained lying on the floor was a husk. There was a horrible feeling of wrongness, as if something that had never been meant to be had occurred.

Getting to his feet, a gi as black as midnight making no noise about him, soulless Goku tightened a fist. A raging inferno of darkness swelled up around him, obliterating the building that could not contain him. Walking through the falling rubble, which disintegrated before it touched him, soulless Goku moved from the dark flames behind him and vanished into the sky.

.

From within his mountain, Piccolo's eyes shot open just as suddenly with a painful gasp. He had decided to remain here as long as it took to get his body, mind and ki in proper working order again. It was at least safe here, inside the mountain, where no one was likely to bother him. The time here had stretched a very long while indeed, but he would rather be patient than dead.

But he could not help but notice that something was horribly wrong. Dai Kioshin's spell had been so unimportant that it escaped his notice; not so its results. Now he sensed that Goku had been turned into something terrible, something that made Piccolo tremble to sense. Only one thing could have created something so horrible: Dai Kioshin must have taken his soul.

i_18?_ /ihe called carefully. There was a moment's pause before he heard a mind in response.

i_Piccolo?_

_Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?_

_ No bones, or whatever I have, broken; my systems are fine. But I won't be in good shape for a while, and if anyone appeared now, I don't think I'd be able to even move. What about you?_

_Similar. I'm in a protected location, I'm gonna heal. But I have a reason for calling you._

_What?_

_Dai Kioshin stole Goku's soul._

_He did what?/i_ 18's mind sounded incredulous.__

_iStole his soul. I'm not sure how, but it's something that never should have been done._

_What does that mean?_

_ It means that he no longer has any morals. He's not a being of Darkness, but whatever he has become is something never meant to be. There could be other side effects, but I can't be certain. This has never happened before./i_ Piccolo wasn't even sure about that part. At this point everything was so beyond him he was struggling to keep up, much less look ahead. Beyond anyone.__

_iSo is he going to start destroying things?_

_No, he isn't crazy, just entirely self-serving. There's nothing he wouldn't do to get what he wants._

_Should we be worried if he comes?/i _18 thought back.__

_ib**We/b** don't need to be. We're his friends._

_Why would he care about that anymore?/i _18 asked.__

_ iHe retains his memory of us. Let's face it, love is basically a self-serving emotion. It makes you feel good to make someone else happy. The two of us won't have any problems. It's others that will./i _Piccolo returned dryly. If he was even half way right, they would have problems indeed.__

_iIs he even concerned with them?_

_ A bit. From what I can sense of him, he had four things on his mind. You, me, killing Buu, and killing Dai Kioshin. Those two have a lot more to be worried about./i _This, at least, Piccolo was more certain about.__

_iThanks for the information. Do we just stay until we can get healed, then?_

_That's about all we can do. As soon as I'm better, I'm going to get Goku's soul back. With luck, he can still be saved._

_Alright. See you._

_I hope._/i

Cutting off the connection, Piccolo sighed deeply. The consequences of this... were anyone's guess.

.

Struggling, 18 managed to move her left hand a few inches. Well, that was an accomplishment. With any luck, some time in the near future she'd be able to sit up. Pain sliced through her for just moving that far. But at this rate, her energy was at least regenerating itself. The infinite energy source inside her couldn't refill her full ki very fast, but at least it would keep working as long as it remained intact.

She wished she had asked Goku how he had used her power supply to heal himself almost instantly. Right now, she could really use a healing. Maybe she could ask him whenever she ran into him again. Then again, maybe she wouldn't want to. No soul. That was a disturbing thought. What did that do to a person? Piccolo had given her the facts, but it wouldn't change what it would look like up close.

Inwardly, 18 smiled as she realized the familiarity of her thoughts. How many of the people she had killed thought the same about her? For all it had been worth, she might as well have been soulless. A noise bit into her thoughts, and she inclined her eyes upward to see what had caused it.

A portal opened in the air, and Dai Kioshin stepped out. He glanced around coldly, then made a gesture. Perhaps a dozen more warriors stepped from the portal after him, and it closed. Looking down, Dai Kioshin's eyes lit up when he saw her. Dropping to the ground, he smirked and bent over her.

"So, the mighty 18 has been laid low? How fortunate I happened by."

Unable to speak, 18 merely wished for enough strength to hit him. He wasn't really that strong; one shot at even half her power should have been enough to send his head into the nearby lake. Right now, however, the best she could do was close her eyes and refuse to look at him. And even that hurt.

"I must capitalize on this," Dai Kioshin said, now talking to himself. This was a wonderful stroke of luck. If he got enough time, perhaps he could try removing her soul as well. Then he could actually finish the procedure. Whenever Goku came, Dai Kioshin could control him. With both under his control, Buu couldn't possibly win. After that, it'd be a simple matter to finish his mastery over the galaxy.

But if he waited too long, she'd be sure to recover, and that wouldn't be a pretty situation. No, he had to keep her in check somehow until he had time to do his work. He had just the thing to do it too, since he had caught her at such a weak moment. Apparently fate was smiling upon him.

Flicking a finger, Dai created three rings of energy. They circled around 18, then contracted. Moving his finger again, Dai jerked her into an upright position. While that did something, it wouldn't hold her if she ever got a chance to use any ki, however. Rooting around in a pocket, Dai searched for what he needed. Eventually his hand pulled out two silvery circlets. 18 was unable to protest as he slipped them on her wrists.

Instantly she felt them snap around her, contracting to her exact wrist size. Her ki, and energy, was suddenly cut off from her entirely. Great. Just when she had thought the situation couldn't get any worse. Now it would take her even longer to get her ki back up to full power. Still, he hadn't stopped her system's self-repairing function, so at least she'd recover from the physical damage. A bit disgusted, 18 realized she'd merely have to wait.

"You!" Dai Kioshin commanded, pointing at the nearest warrior. He snapped to attention, slightly nervous.

"Sir!"

"All of you soldiers, head back to the base and guard what we have there. Get all the others."

"Sir!" All ten of the warriors saluted briefly, then jumped into a portal that the first one opened. In seconds, they were gone. Dai Kioshin didn't give them a second glance, immediately turning back to the rest of his plans. There were a few more plans to be made, and then all would be stable again.

"You two servants," he pointed to the two who had remained, "stay here and guard with me."

"Yes, Master," they replied. While they stood at attention, focused outward into the empty planet, Dai Kioshin turned toward 18. She was hanging limply in the energy bands, of course; she could do nothing else. Stepping closer, Dai Kioshin slowly caressed the side of her face idly wondering how much a soulless being could be commanded to do. Enough, probably.

At the same time, 18 pondered trying to bit his hand. The movement would hurt her terribly and probably set her recovery back, but it would be worth it. If she had even a bit more energy she could probably lung to his fingers. Assuming she could get there she knew she could bite them off. It was _not_ his right to touch her. Just as she was beginning to contemplate the action, Dai Kioshin moved away.

Looking far into the horizon, the mastermind smiled slightly. With this lucky break, all the other disasters might not matter after all. Things could still be repaired, everything would work out. Nothing, after all, could stop destiny. The inevitable would eventually come to be; he would be the Master of Existence. It was the only dream he had not yet realized, and it could not be stopped.

.

Without wavering even slightly, the body that had been Goku continued to streak across the afterlife, no more than a black blur and shock wave behind him A small planet appeared in the distance, directly in his path, and quickly was before the saiyan. Tightening a fist, Goku caused the planet to implode on itself. Shortly after, a massive explosion expanded, far larger than the planet had been. Goku flew on through the blast, ignoring it completely. His dark eyes betrayed no emotion, if, indeed, they were capable of any.

The location was near. Goku continued flying at a constant speed, now slowly arcing down to the planet. A few things had been altered, and the scenario around the object had changed. That was irrelevant.

.

Falling from where he had been imbedded in the rock and hitting the ground heavily, Piccolo slowly gained his footing. His body, at least, had recovered. He wouldn't be at max power for quite a while, but he was probably strong enough to fly or deal with any of the lower beings that might come his way.

For now, there was only one thing on his mind. Goku's soul had to be found, and as quickly as possible. As Piccolo made his way to the edge of the cave, he swayed and had to catch himself on the mouth of the cavern. He wasn't in as good of shape as he had thought he was. But there simply wasn't time.

.

Dai Kioshin suddenly froze in mid step. He turned to consider what he felt more closely. There was something terrifying coming, but it wasn't Buu. This was a different sort of terror, not like Buu's pure malice. After a while, he identified it - a lack of anything. In the next moment, he realized it was Goku.

What had gone wrong? This being, whatever he had become, was not something that Dai could control. Thinking about it made him shudder. Something had gone wrong, and now Goku was coming to this location. Why? Closing his eyes, Dai carefully thought. With any luck, he wasn't trying to kill him. More likely, he was following 18. If so, perhaps there was a bit of hope. A portal was too dangerous, but he could use a general teleport.

"Excuse me," he said to the nearest Kai, attempting to hide his nervousness, "I have business to attend to elsewhere. I must be leaving you."

From the servant's expression, Dai knew he had failed to hide it. "Is everything alright, sir?"

"No, there are matters elsewhere that could still prove problematic and I must confess that I still worry over them. Listen, if you stay here everything should be alright. When this blows over, I'll make sure you get promoted. Alright?"

"Yes sir!"

"Good man. We need more of your type around here."

Stepping back, Dai Kioshin suddenly seemed to dissolve and flew up into the sky. Half teleported, flying into the sky, Dai looked down once more. Stupid fool.

.

Raising her head with some difficulty, 18 extended her senses out a bit further. Why had Dai left? Nothing seemed to be appearing, but then something entered her range and she vaguely sensed it. Her instincts flared up instantly. On one side, she recognized it as Goku, but another side screamed for self defense. His power had changed, quite different from the comfortable energy signature she knew so well.

First, there was a horrible darkness about him. Like Piccolo had said, he seemed stripped of something. Something that truly defined him. What it left was nothing but a shell of what Goku once was. Looking deeper, however, 18 realized that something else had changed. She couldn't really define it, but something seemed better. It was buried, and unused under the darkness, but it was there.

Whatever the anomaly was, it didn't stay in her mind long as she involuntarily shivered. By now it was obvious that Goku was headed their way. He hadn't shifted course when Dai had left, which meant he was coming for her. In a way, that was good. At least she'd be saved.

Whatever else had changed, Goku was no less powerful. More powerful, even. He was already nearing them, and in a few seconds he alighted just a few yards away. The Kai that was closer to him stared in shock. Goku's blank gaze looking past him as if he did not exist. Overcoming his fear, the Kai turned and ran in the opposite direction. Instantly, Goku reacted, his arm raising, a bolt of ki slicing out, destroying the fleeing servant completely.

Walking past the remains without a backward glance, Goku continued moving forward. The Kai who had been closer to 18 still stood in terrified horror. As Goku drew nearer, the Kai began a teleport, and starting fading up into the sky. Goku's hand shot up, and the Kai suddenly halted. He was slowly pulled back out of his teleport and into reality. Not a flicker of anything crossed Goku's face as he clenched one hand. Black flames leapt up around the Kai, engulfing him in flames for one horrible instant. Nothing remained.

Shifting his focus, Goku turned to 18. She fought the urge to shudder. Something about how he had done that scared her, deeper than it should have. In the past, she'd seen worse. But never like this. Never with such a completely lack of even caring. No malice, no evil; he had just destroyed them. Both depthless eyes glanced into her own, as if asking a question.

"I'm fine," she told him weakly. "Dai just captured me after Buu nearly killed me."

Moving closer, Goku glanced down at the rings surrounding her, and at the silver bands on her wrists. Again he looked up, questioningly.

"I think they somehow block off my ki completely. Dai put them on." At least she hoped that was what he had been intending to ask. Glancing carefully at the rings, Goku was still a moment. Then he touched each one, lightly, and they shattered to dust. Instantly 18 felt a warm flood of ki rush back into her again.

Waving a hand, Goku dismissed the rings. Without their support, 18 dropped to the ground. Goku bent down beside her, his eyes asking a question again.

"You really can't talk, can you?" 18 realized slowly. Goku made no reaction; his expression seemed completely unable to communicate anything.

"I'll be fine," she told him, "but Buu took a lot out of me. I'd be in better condition if not for Dai's meddling. But being separated from my ki so long weakened me quite a bit."

Struggling to stand, 18 managed to prop herself up on both arms a while before she collapsed again. Soundlessly Goku was hovering beside her, watching, questioning.

"Sorry; I can't manage. If you give me a few minutes I'll be able to fly again."

Apparently they didn't have that long. Goku bent down and picked her up in his arms, then blasted off. It was odd, 18 realized, his touch didn't feel any different, unlike his ki. His arms were gentle, though they moved slightly stiffly. Still, she preferred it to Dai Kioshin. Being in close proximity to Goku, she realized that ki was steadily radiating from his body, probably intentionally. When it seeped into her, it caused no harm. Something about it was horribly dark, but for now, she didn't care. Energy was energy.

Goku put on another burst of speed, reaching his maximum velocity. Looking into the biting winds, 18 put both arms around Goku's neck and went along for the ride.

.

Hovering above the planet that expanded before him, Piccolo carefully considered. He could not sense Goku's soul, because apparently it had no direct ki. Still, he knew that it would not be here; that much he could discern from other factors. Dai Kioshin had been the one who had taken it; Piccolo was certain of that fact now. If he were Dai Kioshin, where would he hide a soul?

It might be with him. That was certainly a possibility. But right now it was difficult to find Dai, since he was doing so much portal hopping. Plus, Dark Buu was looking for him too, and that was the last thing Piccolo needed. The first place he should check, he decided, was Dai Kioshin's planet. Flying slowly enough to conserve his energy, Piccolo made his way toward it.

He was almost a mile from the planet when he was suddenly attacked by some warrior popping out of nowhere. Ducking, Piccolo easily evaded him. What was this? Sensing around, Piccolo found a near blanket of ki around the planet, in the form of thousands of warriors. Probably every single being under his command that could be brought to the planet. Well, if Goku's soul wasn't here, he didn't know where it was.

Diving forward at a higher speed, Piccolo raced past a wave or two of them before they noted his presence. A warrior slanted directly toward, him; whirling, Piccolo evaded him. At the speeds they were flying, he had only to avoid them for a brief amount of time and he'd be past them. Another attacked from the side, Piccolo merely slowed, allowed him to hurtle on past, then picked up speed again.

Up ahead a large ship floated in space. Warriors began launching from it, coming toward him. This situation would be a bit more problematic. Gathering ki around himself, Piccolo rushed forward, stopping for nothing. As he got closer, Piccolo modified the ki surrounding him so it would be as sharp as possible. With any luck, none of the warriors would be smart enough to figure out how to stop him.

They weren't. He broke through the group of warriors like a wave, most barely managed to make it out of the way. Reaching the ship, Piccolo sliced directly through it, and continued on, dropping his ki aura as soon as possible. Not bad, he'd made it through most of the warriors without using too much ki. Not that he had a whole lot of it to spare.

While Dai was trying to protect Goku's soul, or whatever it was, he was doing a poor job of it. Even though he had a massive concentration of troops surrounding it, he also could not have been more obvious about its location than if he had used neon signs. Finding the densest concentration of warriors, Piccolo swooped to that place. As he neared it, a whole set of warriors came flying at him at full speed.

It was almost like dodging ki blasts, Piccolo realized. They charged at him at full speed; he just had to dodge and they went hurtling on. Soon, he could see the site up ahead. A temple, surrounding by warriors. Breathing deeply and gathering whatever ki he had, Piccolo went in.

.

Despite the biting wind, 18 distinctly felt Piccolo's battle, and figured out what he was trying to do. If she felt well enough, she would have helped him, but as the situation was, she couldn't. Soulless Goku was still going somewhere, and it appeared to be relatively important. Not that he could explain anything about it.

"I think I can fly now," she told him. Goku set her down in midair, then blasted off again. 18 quickly followed suit. He was moving a bit fast, but it wouldn't be too much trouble to keep up with him. The flight didn't last a whole lot longer, anyway. In less than a minute, amidst a bunch of rock pillars, Goku stopped flying and decelerated in a single second. Merely hovering, he moved to one rock pillar and sat down on a side, merely waiting.

Shrugging, 18 sat down on the opposite side. So, now, they merely had to wait, for something. It felt like they were there for a reason, but she wasn't sure what it was. Further examination of the surrounding area showed her that it was a nexus of magical energy. Most likely that was the reason Goku had chose this spot... but what was he waiting for? She had no idea what his motivations were. That was alright, though. She could wait.

-

One...


	57. Episode LV: Final Saga

Notes or answers to questions would seem out of place here. If you believe that questions remain to be answered, merely keep in mind both that some are left unanswered and that the answers to others require searching.

This is it. The end; the last chapter. I have been posting this work here for well over a year and now it is finally reaching its completion. Strangely, I find that I have very little to say. All I can do is hope that this story has brought to you the enjoyment that it has brought to me, and that this final portion will be a fitting conclusion. When this chapter is complete, it will be time to move on to other things.

But for now we are not at that point. For now you do not know of the ramifications of Goku's darkest incarnation, of broken souls, of Darkness' i ultimas /i form, of The End. For now, the chapter is not over. It will not be long, I know... but not yet.

-

Episode LV: Final Saga

Bashing aside another warrior, Piccolo continued blazing forward. This wasn't so difficult, though he was being forced to fight a bit. Still, it wasn't causing that much of a drain on his ki. Before he could continue on, arms suddenly clamped over his, forcing them back painfully. Sensing his attacker, Piccolo realized that it was one of the fighters he had dodged before. Piccolo cursed himself for failing to consider them in his calculations. Though he struggled, Piccolo realized that at this point, using enough ki to break loose would be more than he could spare. Especially since it seemed that all the other warriors were fusing their strength into this one so he could hold him.

In front of him, a warrior held out a finger and began charging. A sparkle of energy began to grow around his finger, and steadily got larger and larger. Feeling the ki in the attack, Piccolo realized what it was. Basically a copy of his own Special Beam Cannon. It had already been charging for nearly a minute, and it had quite a bit of power. Piccolo doubted it was strong enough to slice through him, but it would definitely hurt. Worse yet, it might drain a good deal of his ki to block it.

The warrior fired the blast, and Piccolo forced himself to act quickly. Though he was being held with considerable strength, they had failed to adequately hold his legs. Flipping his legs up, Piccolo did what was basically a hand stand on the warrior holding him, while still having his arms held behind him. Just underneath him, the blast ripped through the pack of warriors, demolishing all in its path, including the one holding him.

Free from the hold once more, Piccolo moved back forward, slamming his feet into the head of the warrior who had fired the blast. He collapsed, and Piccolo breathed a sigh of relief that he had been mostly unnoticed. Landing on his feet, Piccolo sprang off and began running now, to avoid ki detection. There were warriors all around the building, carefully watching for ki.

Which was a mistake. Piccolo leapt up to the nearest wall and began quickly climbing it, using no more than muscle. Jumping from one section of roof to the next, Piccolo carefully avoided notice and any manner of conflict. Eventually, he had moved around to the upper part of the building, and saw his goal.

Atop a spire in the center sat a crystal that glowed with a brilliant light. Risking being seen, Piccolo raced across the clearing toward the spire. Jumping to it, Piccolo barely caught the edge and pulled himself up. From there, however, he was almost done. Light radiated out from the crystal. For a moment, Piccolo found himself feeling distinctly out of place. This, this was a person's soul. Something about it seemed different, too, as if there was some authority that hadn't been there before. It wouldn't do anyone any good if it didn't get into Goku's body, however.

Taking the crystal, Piccolo almost jumped as an alarm began to sound. Instantly, warriors began flying into the air, looking for him. Great.

.

They had been sitting on the rock pillar for a short while, when 18 suddenly felt several kis appear nearby. Magical energy, too, probably hopping from a portal here to elsewhere. She instantly glanced up to check who it was, and noticed that Goku didn't even move. 18 recognized them as some of Dai Kioshin's warriors. If they were just passing through, they had terrible luck. If they were dispatched to eliminate them... terribly inadequate.

"I'll handle this one," she told Goku. He didn't move, so she took that as a yes and flew into the air.

"Dai Kioshin has sentenced you to die," the first warrior intoned. "We are the executioners."

Making no response, 18 waited for the response from them that was inevitable. Three warriors converged on her, and 18 easily blocked or dodged their blows. Ducking under a few attacks, 18 nailed one through the stomach, sending him flying. Whirling, 18 caught another off guard, crushing half of his head with an elbow jab. From off-side another warrior launched several kienzan-like attacks. Stiffening ki around her, 18 allowed them to bounce off, into the other warriors, where they caused massive damage.

Slicing her hand through the air, 18 sent a cutting line of ki into the main mass, leaving whatever the kienzan didn't finish off to fall toward the ground in pieces. Though it disturbed her slightly, 18 found herself smiling. Being able to fight again felt pretty good. Two warriors had been far enough away from the blast to still attack, and they did so now, from opposite sides. Ki began to build up along their fists as they charged up attacks. Waiting until the last second, 18 then ducked. Their fists smashed into each other, sending shockwaves back along each's body. Lightly touching each on the chest, she sent burst of ki ripping through both. Glancing up, she realized that all of the so called executioners had been destroyed.

Not having moved from his vantage point at the rock pillar, Goku's mouth bent upward in a slight smile. 18 returned and sat down on the opposite side of the rock pillar again, to wait. She had to wonder what he was waiting for, and how he knew it would come here. This apparently hadn't been it, judging from his lack of a response. he seemed to know what he was doing, so she gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Idly she began wondering what it would be like trying to live with Goku without a soul. Piccolo was trying to retrieve it, and she had faith in him, but that didn't keep her from pondering the worst. He still seemed to care about her, and seemed to have traces of his personality, but whatever he still possessed was almost impossible to see. Could she still be in love with a husk like this?

A portal opened nearly in front of her, and 18 started slightly. Dark Buu emerged from the portal, but seemed just as startled as she.

"And so it comes to pass," he intoned, dark eyes fixing on her as the portal slammed closed behind him. "It appears that things will be finished far sooner than I expected."

Before he could make any further move, a dark bolt of ki suddenly slammed him backward. Another barely missed 18's shoulder, slicing into Buu again. This must be what Goku had been waiting for; he somehow knew that Dark Buu would happen to warp here. Ducking, she allowed Goku to fire a much larger shot through the air where she had previously been.

Clenching a fist, Dark Buu healed the damage done to him, and gritted his teeth.

"I do not care how you are alive, or what you are, but you will be eliminated as you were before."

Goku stood, then floated into the air, facing off with Buu. Both of them drifted into the middle of the field, and their eyes locked. For a second, even Dark Buu faltered as he saw Goku's eyes. Then, a flicker of black light shone around him, and Darkness glowed in his eyes briefly.

"Die."

.

Ducking under another warrior, Piccolo realized that now dozens of them were surrounding the building. It wouldn't be easy to make it out. Of course, had he been at full strength, he could have finished them all off without much effort, but as things were now, he was short on options.

The instant he managed to avoid their attention, Piccolo dived directly down, into the stone below. Above, warriors searched around frantically for him. Gather energy, pushed ki into his hands and began eating through the rock. He continued on beneath the ground, pulling away rock as was necessary. So far, none of the warriors above noticed the small amount of ki being used below, with everyone flying about above.

When he got clear of the crowd of warriors, Piccolo blasted up from the Earth again and flew into the sky. Instantly his presence was felt by the warriors back at the building, but it was too late. Closing his hand around the small crystal that contained Goku's soul, Piccolo forced himself to fly faster. Regardless of logic, somehow it felt as if time was growing short.

.

Flipping back with Dark Buu's blow, Goku, still upside down, fired a massive wave of ki that sliced directly through his opponent. As the monster began to heal himself, Goku flipped around on one hand and smashed a kick into Dark Buu's side. Instantly he followed up with a series of blows that left Dark Buu a crumpled, misshapen blob. Growling, Dark Buu snapped himself out to his original form.

"You cannot win," Dark Buu intoned, not arrogantly but merely certain. "Your power is not nearly enough."

For a moment, Goku gave no response, merely looking Buu directly in the eyes. Then, he threw back his head, and his ki seemed to explode. His mouth opened as if to yell, but no sound came out. It didn't seem to matter, as his power began to effect the area around the warriors. All around the battlefield, rocks were shattered to nothing but dust. A crater was formed on the ground below. Air all around them was completely ionized. 18 had to brace herself to keep from being blasted backward.

A dark column of light burst up around Goku, obscuring him completely. It began widening, forcing Dark Buu to back off slightly. Just as it seemed the power would destroy the planet they were on, the beam closed to a much smaller and more concentrated form, then shrunk down to surround Goku's form. Darkness completely surrounded it, then the darkness shattered, leaving only Goku.

He had changed; now, his hair stood up as if it were Super Saiyan. But it could never have been mistaken for that form. It was an unearthly black, far darker than his hair had ever been before. 18 quickly recognized it as the same type of darkness that was in his eyes. His aura was now also black, and it had the same touch of nothingness as did the rest of him. Black lightning swiftly arced around his body.

Dark Super Saiyan. That's what this was, 18 realized slowly. She had heard him describe when he had made his transformation to Light Super Saiyan. That had been when he had been linked to all of the good in existence. Now, soulless, he was completely divorced from anything good.... what could this form be called but Dark Super Saiyan?

Still in shock, Dark Buu was unable to defend himself when Goku rushed forward, a karate chop slicing entirely through Dark Buu. Healing himself as quickly as possible, Dark Buu threw a fist toward Goku, who caught the punch, then drove a fist into Dark Buu's stomach. Falling and crashing heavily into the ground, Buu fired a massive burst of ki toward Goku, who batted it aside. Rushing forward without slowing, he shattered through Dark Buu.

Shrugging off pain and reforming himself, Dark Buu attacked further, driving Goku back into a purely defensive mode. On one punch, Dark Buu found that Goku managed to catch his wrist, his grip tight nearly to the point of breaking it. Turning aside Dark Buu's other fist and knocking his legs away briefly, Goku head butted him with his hair.

The black locks pierced Dark Buu, who yelled in obvious pain, then reformed himself again. Smashing a knee into Goku's face, Dark Buu sent him hurtling back, them slammed down into him from above. Flying down into the dust cloud to finish him off, Dark Buu had a glimpse of Goku's raised hand before a bolt of ki slammed into him.

Both began fighting once more, now with Goku slowly chipping away at Dark Buu. The ultimate Darkness manifest found that he had almost no time to launch anything, barely enough to deflect what was coming his way. Pushing all his energy into a burst of speed, Dark Buu slammed a fist into Goku's stomach. The saiyan winced for a second, then attacked in return, his fist slammed into Dark Buu and sending him flying.

Landing on the side of a rock pillar, Dark Buu launched a series of blasts toward Goku, who seemed to just vanish before they reached him. A second later, the entire pillar Buu was standing on was shattered to dust as Goku attacked from behind. Whirling where he knew the saiyan had to be standing, Dark Buu fired a blast point blank, but Goku's aura absorbed the damage. Jumping to the other side of the field, Dark Buu watched carefully for Goku's next move. Something horrible had happened to him, to cause this. Had it been something Dai Kioshin had done? Would the answer to the question also explain why he was alive?

Raising his hands to the sky, Goku fired a multitude of thin blasts in the air. They quickly vanished from sight. For a few seconds, Goku continued firing blasts, then he stopped and lowered his hands again.

"What was that?" Dark Buu asked, voice vaguely mocking, "A show of strength? You'll have to do far better than that to impress me."

Of course, Goku said nothing, gazing at Dark Buu with blank eyes. 18, who was still concentrating on the sky, sensed the true nature of the attack before Dark Buu did. A veritable storm of ki bolts rained from the sky, blanketing the entire surrounding area in destruction. Within the first instant of the attack, the entire field had been leveled. 18 found herself on the very edge of the storm, and she was safe; the bolts weren't aimed at her anyway.

At first Dark Buu was caught off guard, and the bolts tore through him. Healing himself and raising a shield, the monster weathered the storm. Rushing forward amidst the blasts, which didn't seem to harm him, Goku stabbed a hand into Dark Buu's shield. For a second the shield was forced away under his hand, then it sliced through, finishing off the entire shield. Suddenly Dark Buu was again vulnerable to the destructive rain, and it ripped him entirely apart before the attack finally ceased.

All around the ruined field, dark flames were lit up everywhere. Dark Buu had healed himself, but stood wavering in the middle of the destruction, barely on his feet. Shifting to his clawed metallic hand, Goku leapt into the sky above Dark Buu. For an instant his claws gleamed darkly, then he rushed down on the grey warrior.

Slashing repeatedly, Goku sliced the monster to ribbons, then stepped back and began gathering energy. Slowly, Dark Buu began to piece himself together. Eventually he had made it to his original form, but was too drained to avoid the Kamehameha that Goku fired into him point blank.

Unable to stop his fall, Dark Buu was blasted in a continual straight line, and off the planet. Before the beam had even ceased to fire, Goku teleported to near Dark Buu and uppercutted him from the planet's gravitational field. Unable to keep up with that much speed, 18 merely found Goku's ki and used Instant Transmission to get closer to the battle that was about to begin.

Both warriors faced off in space, then at the same instant both blurred from sight.

.

Just as Piccolo sensed the battle going on, he found himself suddenly blocked by massive vanguard of warriors, all forming a cluster in his way. Nervously, Piccolo considered his odds while they faced him. They could hardly hurt him, but still, there seemed to be hundreds off them. If he tried to go around them, they'd just fan out. Going through the cloud of them would surely fail.

"Surrender at once!" one of them called. Piccolo ignored him.

"You cannot possibly win!" the same one called. "Surrender and save yourself some trouble!"

"Give us the soul and we'll let you alone," another promised. All began jeering at him. Smiling inwardly, Piccolo realized that they did so because they were afraid. They knew that even if they won, most of them would die. Still, if they won, it was all over. Glancing down, Piccolo cupped the glowing soul in his hands. What was he going to do now? As he looked down, the soul shimmered brighter, and Piccolo realized his own eyes glowed along with it.

He knew what he had to do; he knew that he could do it. Whatever it was that allowed Goku to overcome the odds flickered within his soul. Closing his hand over the shimmering, Piccolo glanced up at the warriors, and something in his gaze stopped all their calls. With a short yell, Piccolo put the last of his energy into a massive fireball of ki that swept forward. It blasted through the entire cluster, which failed to expand in time. Shadowing the ball of flame, Piccolo swept through the flaming explosion and then he was suddenly out in free space, sailing through the air with only dust floating behind him.

For a short time he merely flew through the air, far too tired to change his momentum. It was not much longer until he saw the battle scene. Floating some distance from the conflict, 18 was apparently merely watching. As Piccolo had expected, Goku seemed to be a twisted shell; his hair was also a deep black, standing as if he were Super Saiyan. In one hand he held up Dark Buu, who looked almost defeated. None of that mattered at the moment. Unless Goku's soul returned to his body, he could not actually destroy Dark Buu.

"Here!" he called, hurling the crystal toward Goku. The saiyan turned slightly, just in time for the crystal to strike him. The instant it did so, it shattered into a fine crystalline dust, the light within flooding into Goku. His hair lost its black luster and fell to its original position, his clothing faded back to its typical orange, his eyes began to clear. Just before the transformation was complete, Dark Buu raised a hand.

A massive sphere of Darkness collided with Goku, wrapping around him and sending him hurtling backward. Quickly Goku stopped flying back, but merely floated motionlessly, eyes closed. Piccolo realized with horror that Dark Buu had capitalized on the moment when Goku's link to his soul was weakest. That spell... he recognized it with a shiver. Now Goku was trapped in an unreality dimension, one where he would remain forever, in tormented non-existence. It wouldn't end this way. It couldn't.

But nothing that Piccolo could tell himself changed the terrible facts. Goku lay unmoving, effectively incapacitated from all life. For the first time, Dark Buu grinned slightly, and the expression sent waves of Darkness cascading from him. Focusing, the monster began to draw all of Darkness into himself. A force from outside of the galaxy flooded inward, cracking the edges, shredding through portions of reality. Darkness swept over and into the being known as Dark Buu, eclipsing him completely. When it again attained a physical form, it was entirely black from head to toe. It was no longer Dark Buu... for the first time, pure Darkness walked the galaxy.

Piccolo didn't care. All that mattered now was Goku. He rushed toward the fallen saiyan, and arrived at the same time that 18 did. Dark Buu glanced at them as though they were insects and did not move as they carried Goku away. First, he would revel in the final destruction, the final cataclysm of the universe. The galaxy had been calling for it for centuries. Then he could brush aside these offenders effortlessly. Their survival was irrelevant, now that Darkness was incarnate within existence.

.

Agonizing pain wracked Goku's body and soul, the world around him growing fainter and fainter. It was as if he was falling back, through endless shadows. Images flashed through his mind, everything he had ever done. His life seemed to pass before him, from his earliest days with Bulma, to Namek, to the androids. There was good, there was evil. Corruption flooded most things, but certain events stood golden amid all of the others. Everything became darker, fading into oblivion.

This was not the clean, welcome touch of death; this was the final destruction of everything that he was. All that he represented was draining away from the existence that he understood. The pain redoubled, and he struggled to shove it off, but the darkness continued to draw him down.

Suddenly two hands touched his. One was Piccolo's, the other was 18's. Looking out into the darkness, Goku saw them there, pulling him out of the fate that was trying to claim him. Momentarily he had hope, but then the dark power welled up even greater, threatening to overwhelm him. Even the hands upon his started to fade away, his limbs growing numb and unresponsive. Shadows surrounded him, and he remembered...

.

_The last star went out, and as one they fired their beams forward.__ Their clash sent a massive crack through reality, making a chill breeze that swept both being's clothes around them violently. The Legendary One's cloak was likewise flying in the wind, and sweat fell from his hood. Eventually the wind blew away the hood of the cloak, making his face be fully revealed. Goku's jaw hung slackly, and his anger dissipated._

_Beneath the black hood, the face that he was staring at was his own._

.

Darkness swirling around and through Goku shattered like dust, giving way and being completely consumed by the power of a glorious light. Both of Goku's eyes blazed with white infernos, and a serenity fell over his face. The same serenity that he had felt before, returning as his body and soul merged. Firmly gripping both hands, Goku came up, out of the darkness.

.

Raising a hand, Darkness began to expand its being from itself, to touch the Darkness within the hearts of every living creature. There it was, pulsating, filled with a lust for destruction. In a moment everything would fall into chaos. Reality would destroy itself, as it was had been meant to be from the dawn of time. Then would be left only nothingness, which would be ripped apart by Darkness.

A sudden presence made Darkness turn, sensing something terrible, something it had not believed truly existed. It trembled slightly as a ripple expanded through reality. Where the ripple passed the cracks through existence healed, repairing themselves effortlessly; where it passed people suddenly reflected upon the terrible evil that was working throughout their lives. Raising its hands, Darkness shielded itself from the onslaught of glorious light flooding over it.

For a moment Goku's form still hung limply, and then his head slowly turned up. His eyes opened, glowing brilliantly. The edges of his body seemed to glow with a soft white light, and something else intangible about him had changed. Though faced with the terrible Darkness, Goku seemed unaffected, surrounded by an _ i authority /i _. Floating of his own power, he smiled serenely at Piccolo then nodded briefly to 18.

Turning, he _ i stepped /i _ across the stars to stand before Darkness. A terrible roar shook reality as Darkness flooded around its form, seeming overwhelming, ready to consume all three of them completely. Goku merely glanced back at him, eyes defiant yet tranquil.

And then the power was unleashed.

.

"No," Dai Kioshin whispered, his voice barely audible even to himself. Without words, he fell to his knees, staring into the distance, unable to bring himself to move. Behind him, the great golden seal lay across the ground, utterly destroyed. The millions of dust like particles were even now being consumed by a silver flame. How? How had something so completely overwhelmed the seal that should have stopped this power?

Feeling the ripple pass over the galaxy, Dai Kioshin, ruler of the entire universe, curled up into a ball and whimpered. His plans, his dreams... never, even in the darkest moments of disaster had he imagined something like this. All his plans now lay shattered on the soil, forever without repair.

Years of work had been based upon what they thought they knew. They had studied, had calculated, had planned exactly where and when the Legendary One would appear. They knew how the power transferred, how it came to rest upon a newborn individual, what might it gave. They knew nothing.

Everything had been based upon the idea of the Legendary One being born. Never once had it occurred to him that the Legendary One could have been _ i made /i _, refined by the flames of existence. Never had he thought that a meddlesome saiyan who seemed no more than a determined annoyance could ascend beyond his very being to a height that even now he could not comprehend.

"We had no idea what we were dealing with," he sobbed, "absolutely no idea..."

.

A cosmic wind blew gently throughout space, curling around Goku and softly blowing his clothing. He did not seem powerful, mighty, or unstoppable. But something had changed. The Light burned intensely in his eyes, and the faint white glow around his body still shimmered; his clothing had become a pure, snowy white, shimmering in dark contrast to Darkness before him.

" i _You are the Darkness /i ,_" he stated simply, looking incarnate Darkness in the eyes and not flinching. " i _Though your place is no more, the galaxy has chosen you. You are the end to the story, and the scales cannot remain unbalanced. All must come to pass._ /i " Darkness found it could say nothing, bound by his words. For the first time feeling anger, feeling its own hatred, it began to build energy for the time when it could strike. "_ i However, /i _" Goku spoke up again softly, " i _focus your destruction on me. Pour out the end of the galaxy on my being. Then everything shall be complete. /i _"

"You are a fool!" Darkness rumbled, voice seeming to shake the foundations of reality. Raising a hand, Darkness launched a burst of dark flame that shot out over the distance faster than Piccolo or 18 could begin to blink. The moment it neared Goku it vanished from existence as if it had never existed.

Growling, Darkness expanded itself, sending lashes of Darkness to surround and encompass Goku, to crush his soul alive. The very instant the Darkness touched Goku's soul it evaporated, unweaving as if it had never existed. Shrinking away, Darkness returned to its concentrated form, eyes blazing.

" i _End this, /i _" Goku commanded.

"As you wish!" Darkness cried, voice thundering over the galaxy. Bursting higher into the void, Darkness raised a hand. Energy began to gather above his palm, collecting from every corner of the universe. The sphere of crackling black power continued to expand, growing larger than a star. It was so dark that the void of space seemed only a light grey compared to it.

All Piccolo and 18 could do was watch. This was the end, Piccolo realized. All the battles, all the games, all of them came to this point. Every move had been played, every card set down, both positions built to this final point. Turning from the Darkness, 18 instead focused on Goku, who had not even slightly moved from his position. He wasn't even looking at the gargantuan sphere, as if disinterested.

Dark energy began to vibrate in every living creature throughout the universe, throughout existence. Shadows, hatred and Darkness poured from every heart, building into the ultimate attack. Darkness began to laugh slightly, its plan becoming reality before its eyes. This was the end. All of existence was giving its power willingly, fueling knowingly or unknowingly the force that was Darkness.

Reality cracked once more as the massive sphere abruptly contracted down to a relatively small sphere of pure, concentrated Darkness within Darkness' hand. Its eyes snapped down toward the Light, toward the foolish three that stood outside of its galaxy. It was time to end this, to destroy all in the way of his final destruction. In the final moment, Darkness laughed.

"This Darkness is the path the galaxy has taken! This is the will of fate!"

"_ i So be it. /i _"

In a clean, swift motion Darkness launched the sphere of Darkness. It streaked across space, ripping a void through the foundations of reality. The resulting explosion lit up every plane of existence, every possible dimension, blinding every being for a brief moment. Darkness and Light crashed against each other, the conflict shaking all that had been, was and was yet to be.

After the explosion there was a long, unnatural silence. Then with a silvery tone a ripple spread from the conflict, binding the cracks in the galaxy. At last the cosmic storm faded, revealing Goku. He was completely motionless, in exactly the place he had stood before the all encompassing explosion.

"That isn't possible!" Darkness roared, trembling slightly. "You cannot have survived the cataclysm! I cannot be defeated! There is Darkness even within your hearts!"

"_ i You lie. /i _" Brilliant white light burst around Goku. His hair flew into the air as if in Super Saiyan, blazing so golden it seemed molten white. Light poured from him with such intensity it was impossible to look directly at him. Against the presence of the Light, Darkness shuddered.

Then Goku's eyes locked onto Darkness, blazing like a holy inferno. The brilliant light expanded from him, not diminishing even slightly as it flew out to encompass the entire area in which they stood. Piccolo and 18 were almost instantly swept up in it, and Light met Light. Filled with a slightly cool power, 18 tilted her head back in rapture, floating into the air not of her own power. Piccolo's halo abruptly shattered, sizzling in burning pieces that fell away into the void; the Namek flexed his fingers, wondering at his first instant of life in years.

Being torn apart within the Light, Darkness struggled to resist. Its blazing eyes locked upon Goku, flaming in final hatred. Surely there was something that it could do, some weakness that it could escape into to avoid complete destruction. But no... in the eyes of each there was nothing but the Light. Raging, it focused upon the hated being that now destroyed it one final time.

"You cannot destroy me! As long as there is hatred, as long as there is destruction, I will survive! I am the darkness within every heart! I cannot die!"

"_ i It is finished, /i _" Goku answered softly. White flame consumed all that was Darkness.

With a rushing wind it was over. Reality stood intact, Darkness completely gone from it. The glorious light seemed to be blown away by the same wind, returning to the figure standing alone. Slowly Goku turned back to face them, and on his face was a serene, ascendant smile. Though his eyes had returned to normal, they still shimmered silvery; he seemed outline by a faintly glowing light that set him apart from all near him.

"_ i It's over, /i _" Goku said finally. All three of them met between them, for the first time realizing that it had all ended. Everything that had been building up to this point was gone, leaving only a quiet peace.

Piccolo and Goku clasped hands firmly, both their eyes laughing slightly. For a long moment neither let go, both simultaneously thinking of things past away. They were the last remnants of something that once was, but was no more. Though their lives had been consumed by flame, what had remained had been refined into something truly beyond what had ever been.

Then Goku turned to 18, and they embraced. Overwhelming power was pouring out from his body, washing over her. She ran a hand through his silky hair and then they kissed passionately. Chuckling, Piccolo glanced away. At least they understood the time and place for such things. But the time and place was now and here.

When they were finished, a Light wrapped around them, and they vanished. There was some final business to attend to.

.

Gripping his chair so hard it cracked, Dai Kioshin abruptly hurled it over the horizon with a slight cry. Rushing to the nearest pillar he slammed it with his full strength, reducing the column to dust. His anger slowly ebbing, Dai Kioshin merely grated his palms together. He was left with nothing. Absolutely nothing. For once in his life he was at a loss, completely and totally unable to react to what had taken place. Against what had faced the terrible Evil, he was as nothing.

Now his own power was waning, even as the dawn of the universe was beginning. There was no hope for this age. No hope at all. It would be futile to even begin to plan again. All was given up for lost, now. But not forever. Slowly Dai Kioshin calmed himself, a slight smile appearing on his face.

Plans could change, and power was fluent. For now, he would concede defeat, but the condition was far from permanent. No, it didn't have to end this way at all. Collecting himself, he moved into the building behind him. Now was the time to seal himself away from existence for a very long time, and let perhaps an eon or two go by. Then he could awake, refreshed and ready to conquer a new galaxy. Hate would have fostered once again, and things would be back to normal. Yes, that was the way to do it. Perhaps next time there would be no meddlesome saiyan.

Passing through the threshold and into the room, Dai Kioshin paused and looked out over his planet slowly. The universe would be completely different when he woke again. He bid it a silent goodbye and continued walking. Whatever shape the universe took next, he would possess it then. They had done nothing to harm him; he had merely learned from the experience, and when the time came, he would strike again.

Light faded as Dai Kioshin moved away from the door and into the unlit building. He crossed the floor toward the pale blue capsule he would seal himself away in. The room was completely dark now, the Afterlife's light lost in the twists and turns, but it hardly bothered him; he didn't really need the light. Just as he neared the capsule, a light flared up before him.

Illuminated by a strange glow, Piccolo sat calmly on top of the capsule. He opened his eyes and glanced at Dai Kioshin with a slightly amused look on his face.

"Imagine meeting you here."

Cursing, Dai Kioshin turned and rushed from the room, hoping to make it before the Namek could attack. He was forced to skid to a halt as he realized there was someone else in the doorway. A soft light surrounded 18 as well. Between both of them, the room was covered in a half-light that seemed to blur the line between imagination and reality. In the flickering shadows, a shape formed and moved over to him.

Goku stood in front of Dai Kioshin, and he found himself unable to escape the warrior's gaze. Nearly whimpering, Dai Kioshin backed up slightly. For the first time the eternal enemies actually came face to face, and Goku found that he had nothing to say.

"Why are you here?" Dai Kioshin stammered, forcing himself to speak.

" i _It is very simple. I am going to grant you your heart's desire._ /i "

"What do you mean?"

"_ i You've always wanted to rule everything that you understood. I'm giving you a chance. /i _"

Dai Kioshin's eyes suddenly widened in horror, as he realized what Goku meant. 18 found herself wondering exactly what it was that they both understood. The Kioshin staggered back, waving his arms frantically.

"Not that! You can't do that to me!"

"_ i I cannot allow you to hurt anyone else. /i _" Goku took hold of the Kioshin's arm, forcing him to remain where he was. Dai Kioshin realized how much the saiyan's grip burned. It was almost as if the saiyan's very being ate away at something within him.

"I'd rather die!" Dai Kioshin told him, forcing back the pain. Goku shook his head.

" i _I'm afraid I won't allow that._ /i "

"Game over," Piccolo said from across the room, smiling at him a final time. Dai Kioshin felt a surge of hate as he realized that the Namek had beaten him once again.

"No! You ca-"

Touching Dai Kioshin's forehead with two fingers, Goku silenced him instantly. The Kioshin's eyes widened suddenly and then closed as he slumped to the floor softly. His being wavered slightly as he lost reality, only a shred of his consciousness remaining in a ghostly form. For an instant Goku remained looking at the shadow of Dai Kioshin, then he turned and left the room. The others followed, Piccolo blowing up the blue capsule for good measure.

They lifted off into the sky, and quickly moved away from the planet. Goku opened a portal back to their own dimension and they flew through it and down toward Earth. The mostly desolate planet had never looked so welcoming, so much like home.

"I'm not sure I want to know," 18 said finally, "but I'll ask anyway. How did you grant his heart's desire?"

"_ i He wanted to rule all he understood, /i _" Goku spoke as if that meant everything. After a while, 18 understood and merely nodded. They flew on in silence, and Goku smiled.

.

Back at the planet, Dai Kioshin grabbed at another of the wooden blocks. Placing the small rectangle atop another, he clapped his hands joyfully. The house was perfect. Turning back to the collection of things that sat in the corner he grabbed a small tin soldier. He placed it upright beside the house and smiled broadly.

Shuffling a few plastic trees, Dai Kioshin looked over the effect and decided he liked it. Briefly his mind screamed in anguish. Reduced to this. Already he found it difficult to keep this imposed thought process away from him. He would suddenly notice a pretty block, or a particularly good tree, and then he would nearly lose his hold on reality. But he had to keep fighting. He wouldn't let himself be reduced to this.

Sitting back, Dai Kioshin gazed over the miniature town before him, then gurgled happily. Now, at last, he was master over everything he understood.

.

Swiftly arcing over the planet, Goku flicked a finger to the rubble below. The bowl portion of Kami's Lookout jerked into the air, glowing with a white energy as it repaired itself, then sat hovering in midair. It continued to float there, and Piccolo took the initiative and landed upon it. He touched down on the cool stone and glanced about at the place that had held so many memories.

"It'll do, but I'll have to hire an interior designer," he commented over his shoulder. "This clashes so terribly." Jauntily he entered the building and sat down upon Kami's old throne. For a moment his face cleared, completely serious. There was an enormous task before him, as the new manager of a tired, ruined planet. He was going to enjoy the challenge.

Outside, Goku raised a hand silently, and 18 understood that she was to wait. She sat down on the edge of the Lookout and gazed over the planet while he vanished from sight. Already things seemed to be clearing, the sky fading to a light blue, light clouds slowly forming. Things were returning to the way they were, healing from the terrible damage that had been done to them. Smiling slightly, she awaited what was to come.

.

The podium stood alone in the center of the city. All four open roads from each corner of the city met together in the square. A gigantic wooden structure had hastily been constructed for the festivities. Thousands of adoring people stood in the massive crowd, all eyes focused upon the man standing behind the podium. He was the only one on the structure, and seemed to practically glow with the light of heroism. At the moment he was animatedly retelling his story.

"And then I was like this! And this!" Hercule shouted, violently thrusting into the air. "And then he started doing the Big Attack of Evil! The sky got all dark like, but I wasn't afraid. I stepped up to him, right up in his face and said 'I will defeat you, evildoer of evil deeds! And then I did my Super Great Dandy Ultimate Power Megaton Kick and destroyed him completely!"

As the crowds cheered wildly he flashed them a heroic grin, puffing up his chest and proudly putting his hands on his hips. Ah, the glory, the splendor. This was life.

A brilliant light shone over the crowd, and a being descended to the platform. Complete silence reigned, as the crowds fell silent, unable to watch the brilliant figure descend. The silence was broken only as the figure's foot touched down lightly on the wooden structure. Goku stood before Hercule calmly, his eyes arresting. Before anyone could speak, a light shone out over them.

Screaming and yelling in terror, the people cowered away from the sphere of burning light that lit up the platform. Their hero and the evil saiyan were eclipsed by it, and none of them could begin to see what was going on. Slowly they began to calm, as it appeared that nothing was going to be destroyed and that they were safe. After all, their brave and victorious hero was there to protect them. What had they to be afraid of?

When the light faded the platform remained exactly as it had before. Hercule and Goku were both standing there, eyes locked, no words passing between them. Calmly Goku stepped away, retreating, they thought. Briefly he looked back, over his shoulder, and it seemed as though he said something, but none of them could comprehend the words that were spoken.

Then the saiyan was gone, as if he had never stood in the square. The crowds seemed confused, disoriented, dazed by the light they had seen. A few began to cheer for Hercule once more, some drifted by the edges as if unsure of where they were. Eventually all eyes looked to Hercule, waiting for his explanation of the terrible battle that must have been fought. Their hero remained motionless.

Those who had seen the sight would remember it for years to come. Hercule had slumped to his knees, and something significant had been gone from him. When he finally rose to his feet, his gaze was haunted. Hundreds had clamored about him, asking what had happened. Their champion ignored them, and had slowly walked through the crowd to the horizon, a stunned expression on his face.

In the years to come, there were no stories told of Hercule. He was never remembered as the hero who had saved the planet and the galaxy. A few of his greatest admirers tried to preserve his legacy, but in the end they found they could not bring themselves to do it. Every time they thought of him, all that came to mind was a small man with a blank expression, slowly trudging away...

.

Frantically glancing about, Hercule discovered that he was trapped within a glowing white sphere. He couldn't see out the sides, and all that was inside it was the saiyan calmly standing and watching him. Utilizing all his strength Hercule wrenched his gaze away from those terrible eyes, trying to escape their searching. Shaken, he stumbled back but was stopped by the pulsing wall of the orb around them. Goku stepped closer to him calmly, and bent down to look directly into his eyes.

" i _You probably don't know me_, /i " he began softly, voice brooking no argument. " i _I am the being who did everything you've taken credit for._ /i "

Somehow, Goku felt like he was far above Hercule, looking down at him. The man shivered under his gaze, now unable to turn away. As their gazes continued to meet, Hercule felt all of the lies he had shielded himself with stripped away, and he faced the truth.

"_ i I could destroy you now,_ /i " Goku continued even softer. "_ i I could leave you in a state of complete pain for an eternity. I could humiliate you in front of all of them._ /i " The saiyan who was so much more than a saiyan smiled slightly. " i _But I won't._ /i "

Hercule trembled slightly, not quite believing his ears. Goku shook his head sadly and continued.

"_ i Go ahead, take credit for scaring me off or defeating me. As soon as I am finished I will leave and never interfere with your life again. However much you might deserve it, you will not be punished for what you have done. If you truly wanted, you could remain the Earth's hero for the rest of your inconsequential life. No one would ever know. Things don't have to change-_ /i "

As he spoke the light around them began to fade slowly, and the world outside began to appear again. Goku turned away, but just before he left he glanced back at Hercule significantly and finished his sentence.

" i _-if_ _you want to live a lie. /i _"

.

Softly Goku touched down at the edge of Piccolo's Lookout. 18 had already risen to meet him, and they exchanged a soft smile briefly. Piccolo emerged from the shadows of the Lookout, coming to stand beside them. The end of the day was approaching, the sun slowly sinking toward the horizon. It was not truly an end, but a beginning. Everything was fresh and new, and perhaps all of existence had another chance at humanity. Fate that had been guiding the galaxy was gone, Darkness destroyed, the universe free to decide what path it would trod.

Slanted, glowing eyes exchanged an intangible truth, and then as one the Light awaited the sunrise.


End file.
